Scripting Magic by Pete McCabe

Every Everythin thing g I do is dedicated to my wife Pattie and an d our our so sons Monty Mon ty and an d Robby Robby

Also by Pete McCabe Astonishin Asto nishing g New N ew Twists Twist s with Paul Harris' Reality Twister Featuri Featuring ng Lubor Lu bor''s Lens Pizza Every Day for a Month Bowling Every Day for a Month

Sc Scr i pti ng Ma M ag i c by Pete McCabe and 26 other guys 45 scripts, 13 essays, 7 interviews, and 1 flowchart to make you a better magician m agician Copyright © 2007 Oth er copyright copyrightss held by the creators of the individual individual scripts Design Consultant Kay Kaminski Proofread by John Lovick John Lovick's notes not es proofr p roofread ead by Rich Cowley Cowley The Benson book proofread pro ofread by Shawn Shawn McMaster McM aster All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or our entire intellectual-property-based way of o f life will will be com complete pletely ly dest destro roye yed d Printed in Canada ∙ Third printing 2009

You You Already Already Script Script Ever Every y Trick Trick You You D o ................................ ................................................. ....................2 ...2 How to Read This Book................................... ................................................. ............................. ..............................4 ...............4 Script Scriptwri writin ting g 1 0 1 .............................. ................................................ ................................ ............................. ............................. .............. 8 Coins Across. Across...................... ................................ ................................................ ................................ ............................... ............... 14 14 .

The Th e Vortex • Pete M c C a b e ................................ ................................................ ................................ ...................... ...... 15 Tom and Restored Card .................................. .................................................. ................................ .............................20 .............20 It'll Be A Miracle • Pete M cC ab e............ e................. ......... ......... .......... ......... ......... .......... ......... ......... ......... .... 21 The Invisible Deck ................ Deck ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................ ........ 26 26 It’s the Future • Pete McCabe................................................................27 Super Powers • Pete McCabe................................................................34 My Tribute to Verno Ve rnon n • Pete Pete M cC a b e............ e................. ......... ......... ......... ......... .......... ......... ......... ..... 39

Eugene Burger and John Lovick: A Theatrical Endeavor ..................44 Gypsy Thread .................................. .................................................. ................................ ................................ .............................. .............. 55 Cosmic Thread • Eugene Burger.........................................................56 Human Thread • Eugene Burger........................................................60 Forming an Eternity • John Lovick......................................................63 The Handsome Jack Lovemeter • John Lovick.................................66

Developing Character: How do you do that? ...................................... 70

Card to Pocket............... Pocket .............................. ................................ ............................... ............................. ................................ ................... 73 I Care • Pete McCabe..............................................................................74 J onathan Levit: An Actor Playing the Part of a Magician ..................82 No-Script Scripting ................................ ................................................ ................................ ................................ ................... ... 9 7 The Add-A-Number Prediction................ Prediction ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................99 ..99 It Adds Up • Pete McCabe...................................................................100 Marked Marke d D eck ec k ................................. ................................................. ................................ ................................ ............................. ............. 10 106 6 ...................................... 10 8 The Human Galvanometer • Gary Ouellet Ouellet...................................... ................................................ ................................ ........................... ........... 116 Echoes • Pete McCabe ................................ The Cincinnati Kid • Pete McCabe.....................................................123 My Favorite Things Thin gs • Pete McC M cCab abe....... e............ ......... ........ ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .......... ........ ... 126 12 6 Jon Jo n Arms Ar mstro trong ng:: G oing oi ng with the F lo w ................................ ................................................ ....................13 ....13 1 My Opening Act • Jon Armstrong......................................................143

Scripting for Effect ................................ ................................................ ................................ ................................ ................... ... 14 4 Triumph.................. Triumph.................................. ................................ ................................ ................................ ................................ ...................... ...... 14 1455 All A ll the Cards Card s Turn Tur n Face Up • Pete M cCab cC ab e..................................... e..................................... 147 14 7

...................................................................153 The Trick that Fooled Einstein Einstein...................................................................153 Grandma's Purse • Paul Green...........................................................154 The Southwest Miracle ............................................................................. 159 This is Reality • Kenton Knepper.......................................................160 Magician's Magician's Ch Choic oicee...................................................................................... 167 16 7 Hotel 52 • David Davi d Reg R eg a l..................... l.............................. .................. ................. ................. .................. ................. ........ 169 16 9

Just Just Say Say Yes.................................... ................ ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .................... 175 The Self-Cutting Banana........................................................................... Banana ........................................................................... 181 Yes! • Larry W hite............. hit e...................... .................. .................. ................. ................. .................. .................. ................18 .......1822

Max Maven: Scripting Tricks................. .......................... .................. .................. .................. .................. .............1 ....19 91 Dram Dr am a........................ a................................. .................. .................. .................. .................. ................. ................. .................. ..................20 .........2033 Gemini Twins.............................................................................................207 Twins .............................................................................................207 Mate for Life • Pete M cC ab e........................ e................................. .................. .................. .................. ........... .. 20 8

Teller: Entering Uncharted Terrain ................ ......................... .................. .................. .................. ...........2 ..214 14 The Backstory ...........................................................................................220 ...........................................................................................220 The 41-Cent Miracle...................................................................................222 Miracle ...................................................................................222 Grandp Gra ndpa's a's Coins C oins • Michael Am m a r.......... r.............. ........ ........ ....... ....... ....... ....... ........ ........ ........ ...... .. 223 The Open Prediction.................................................................................. Prediction.................................................................................. 228 The Cassandra Quandary • Guy Hollingworth..............................229

Rafael Benatar: The Practice of Magic................... ............................ .................. .................. ............ ... 237 Scripting Dealer Tricks.......................................................................... 250 The Dark Card ............................................................................................251 Card ............................................................................................251 The Magic Red Card of Mystery • Bob Farmer...............................252 Hot Rod ....................................................................................................... ....................................................................................................... 260 ......................................... 2 6 2 The Birthstone Sampler • Pete McCabe McCabe.........................................

.............................................................................................269 Svengali Deck .............................................................................................269 Exhibit A • Jim Steinmeyer ............................................................... 270 Chop Cup ....................................... ................... ........................................ ........................................ ........................................ .................... 275 Tomahawk Chop • Joe M. Turner......................................................276 The Th e Fruit Cup • Pete M cCab cC abe............... e........................ .................. ................. ................. .................. ........... 282 28 2 The Koornwinder Kar ................................................................................287 ................................................................................287 Joey's Joe y's Hero He ro • Bruce Bru ce Ba Barn rnett ett......... .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. ......... 288 28 8

Michael Close: A Little Bit of Truth .....................................................295 Scripting and Repertoire................. .......................... .................. .................. .................. ................. ................. ........... 308 30 8

The $100 Bill Switch ................................................................................. 309 30 9 Double Your Money Back • Pete McCabe.........................................310 The Eleven Card Trick ................................................................................. ................................................................................. 314 31 4 The Incredible Mystery My stery o f the Tenth Tenth Card • Eric M ead..... ea d........ ....... ....... .....316 ..316 I Must Be Cheating • Pete McCabe .................................................. 3 29 UnDo Influence..........................................................................................340 Influence ..........................................................................................340 Watchin Wa tching g The T he Detect Det ectives ives • David R e g a l............................................ l.. .......................................... 341 34 1 The Thumbtip Silk Vanish....................................................................... Vanish ....................................................................... 350 The End o f the Rainbow Rain bow • Eric H en n ing...... in g......... ...... ....... ....... ...... ....... ....... ...... ....... ....... ...... ....351 .351 Wild Card .....................................................................................................356 ...................................................................................................356 Seven-Card Monte • Larry Jennings...................................................358 Scriptin Scripting g Count C ountss ..................................................................................... 364 The Business Card Prophesy.....................................................................369 Prophesy .....................................................................369 Fortune Cookie • Mark Jo J o e rg e r................... r........................ ............. ............... ............. ............. ............. ...... 370 Two in the Hand, One in the Pocket........................................................375 Pocket ........................................................375 Repeat • Pete M cC ab e................... e......................... ............. .............. ............. ............. ............... ............... ............. ........ 376 37 6 I’ ve ve Got a Surprise Surprise for You: You: Essay by Jamy Ian Sw iss is s ...................... 379 37 9

A Hell He ll o f a Trick Tric k • Jam Ja m y Ian S w is s ..................................................... 391 39 1 The Five Senses • Jamy Ian Swiss.....................................................402 Should We Order a Pizza? • Vic Sussman ...................................... 4 0 6 What Wha t it Takes to Be Happ Ha ppyy • S é an O’Né O’N éill il l...................................... 4 0 9 Titles and Sentences................................................................................414 Sentences ................................................................................414 The The Ace Assem bly.......................................................................................419 bly.......................................................................................419 When W hen Magic Ma gician ianss Play Pla y Poker Pok er • Pete M c C a b e ...................................421 Mental Cheating • Pete McCabe.......................................................429 Out of This World .......................................................................................439 .......................................................................................439 Secret Powers • Pete M cC ab e................ e....................... ............ ............. ............... ............. ............. ........... .... 4 4 0 Adaptation.................................................................................... Adaptation.................................................................................... ............ 44 8 Other Resources........................................................................................452 Resources........................................................................................452

Thank You

Michael Ammar

G uy Hollingworth

ill Sé an O’Né ill

Jon Arm A rmstro strong ng

Larry Jennings

Gary Ouellet

Bruce Barnett

David Regal

Mark Joerger

Jim Steinmeyer

Rafael Benatar Kenton Knepper

Vic Sussman Sussm an

Eugene Burger Jonathan Levit Levit

Jamy Jam y Ian Swiss

Michael Close Bob Farmer

John Lovick

Paul Green Eric H ennin g

Teller

Max Maven

Joe M. M . Turner

Eric Mead

Larry White

There is an excellent chance that you are reading this book because of the outstanding magicians who have have contribute contributed d to to it— it — magicians ma gicians who gave gen  erously of their time, their experience, and in many cases actual scripts with which wh ich they the y m ake ak e their the ir living. livi ng. They did not do this this for the reward I dangled in front o f them (a free copy o f the book), book), and an d they’re already well-known and respected in the world of o f magic. mag ic. They did it because they believe that scripting your magic will make you a better magician. They all believe that scripting can make you more effective, more entertaining, m ore dramatic, and most o f all, all, more magical. This book would not exist exist without their excellence excellence as mag icians and as hu h u man being b eings. s. I f this book is no good, then I must mus t really have dropped the the ball, ball, because I got serious help on this project. This is a great time to remind every one that copyright and droit morale for all of the contributed scripts rests with the individuals who contributed them. My deepest thanks, and your free book is in the mail.

You Already Script Every Trick You Do

I

want to define what I mean by scrip ting m agic. I do this partly because I’m one of those people who like to distill things to their most essen tial. But mostly because I spent an hour on my definition, and I don’t

want all that tim e to be wasted.

Scripting magic is deciding how you're going to present a trick before you perform it.

When you think o f it this way, it’s hard to argue against the idea that you should script every trick you do. In fact, i f you think o f it that way, you already do script every trick you do. Even if you just narrate your actions, or read the patter from the instructions (which may well be the same thing), that’s still a decision you make before you perform the trick. I say this because I know a lot o f magicians who think scripting means mak ing up a story to go with each trick— where the Jacks are the detectives, and the deck is the bank, and the selected card has a curse on it— and then saying the exact same thing every time you do the trick. That’s just one type of scripting magic. You’ll be pleased to know that not one o f the 45 scripts in this book have the Jacks as detectives. Well, one— from David Regal. But only one! The rest vary wildly, from simple to complex, from detailed scripts to basic outlines. You can script every word you say. Or you can devise a loose structure on which to improvise, as a conversation, You can create a script in a lot of ways, writing it in advance, or working it out in reh earsal or performance. You can script just one key line, or a basic outline, or a beginning and end with a flexible middle, or an entire presentation. So the goal of this book is not to get you to script your magic. You already script every trick you do. The goal of this book is to help you script your magic better, so what you say during your tricks makes the trick more effective. It is not hard to create a better script than the one that comes with the instru ctions, or the one you improvise by narrating your actions. And i f you do want to nar rate your actions, you can create a script that will do so more effectively than i f you were to improvise.

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The secret goal of this book is to reduce the use of the word “patter” within the magic community. I hate this wo rd— to call what you say during a per-

formance “patter" completely misses its importance. My Webster's New Un abridged Dictionary gives this definition: Patter (n): 1) to speak or mumble rapidly or glibly; 2) to recite mechanically or thoughtlessly; 3) language peculiar to a group and not generally understood by out siders; 4) idle, meaningless chatter; the glib, rapid speech of salesmen, circus barkers, magicians, etc. Do any o f these sound appealing to you? What you say during your p erform ance is your script. Whether you wrote it in advance, or someone else wrote it and you're perf orm ing it, or even i f you’re just making it up. Your audience doesn’t think o f it as patter— or maybe they do, if you just chatter meaninglessly. They think o f it as your script. Your audi ence thinks of it as a script. You should take it at least as seriously as your audi ence does.

Learn to do the sleight or secret move to perfection, then spend hours on what to say.

Dai Vernon SCRIPTING MAGIC | 3

How to Read This Book

S

kim freely, as you would any magic book. But read this chapter first, since it explains a few conventions use d in the book, without which everything else may not be so clear. I f you’ve never read a script, this section will also help you understa nd the format.

This book has three types of entries: essays, interviews, and scripts; each

script includes a background section, the script itself, and some notes.

Background The Backgroun d sections vary considerably. Some talk about history o f the trick itself; some talk about other presentations. Some talk about specific pre sentational challenges and/or solutions illuminated by the script. A few ex plain things that make the script easier to read.

The Script This book uses screenplay format, w hich is explained in the next chapter. Scripts are written from the audience’s perspective. This is one o f the most important lessons of this book. Sometimes the biggest benefit you get from scripting is insight into the audience’s perspective. What do you want them to remember? What do you want them to perceive? These questions are of paramount importance, and I know of no better way to address them than by scripting your magic. Each script begins with a scene line that tells when and where it’s being performed. These lines are easy to overlook, because they’re not particularly interesting. But venue is important, and you w ill want to know i f the script is meant for an informal or formal setting. The next couple of lines set the stage— is the magician sitting or standing, is there a large crowd or just one person, things like that. These lines also in troduce the characters in the script, including the spectators. Sometimes the spectators have specific names, which we’ll get to in a minute. One frequent issu e is scripts in which the magician interacts with the audi ence; for example, talking to the spectator when a card is selected. It’s obvious ly impossible to script these precisely and thoroughly in advance, and I didn’t want every third script to begin with "(insert improvised selection process here).” What I did — and I’ll try to remind you when it comes u p — is include a sample of the kind of interaction that these sections are trying to generate. So just think of it as one possible way the beginning of the script might go. Also keep in mind that each magician will handle these sections differently.

SCRIPTING MAGIC I 4

Characters In each script, the part of the magician will have the name of the person who wrote the script. So if it's one o f my scripts, the character named Pete is the magician. If it's Eugene Burger's script, the character named Eugene is the magician. I've worked with several magicians who, when tackling their first scripts, wrote them in the third person, as in “the magician holds up a deck o f cards." They're used to writing up tricks for publication, where you want the read ers to imagine themselves doing the trick. But if you're writing a script for yourself, it's a hindrance. One o f the goals o f scripting magic is to put more of your own personality into the script. The first step is to write the script for yo urs elf— not just “the magician ." Make everything about the script as personal as you can— starting with your name. You don't want the spectators to think of you as just “the magician,” so don't describe yourself that way. Whatever you do, don't use “I” to refer to the magician. Th e script is from the audience's perspective. Most scripts will have one or more audience members who speak, and the names of the characters will sometimes depend on the requirements of the trick. For example, you may have two cards selected, and you need the first to be from someone on your right and the second from someo ne on your left. Or you may have a trick for a couple, where the m an and the wom an have specific parts. The names used in the script serves as a reminder of these things. The m ost com mon spectator nam e is Alex. Alex is used to indicate that the spectator could be anyone, male or female, sitting anywhere. If the script re quires a woman, you will see Eve; if a man, it's Adam. I f you need the person to be to your left for some reason (usually to cover a move), it's Lee; to your right is Ricky, someone in the center is Chris. Here is the list, in case you ever need to refer back to it later. Alex is any person, anywhere Lee is any person to your left Chris is any person in the center (across from you) Ricky is any person to your right Adam is any man Eve is any wom an

Dialog It's very easy when reading a script to skip the “stage directions” and just read the dialog. Don't do it. First of all, these scripts don't have stage direc-

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 5

tions; they're action lines, and they’re very important. One of the best things you can do with a script is replace a line of dialog with an action that accom plishes the same thing. For example, say you have a piece of glass, and you want to communicate that it’s solid. You can say "It’s solid,” or you can tap it with som ething, and it rings like crystal.

The Play's the Thing As you learn to script well, you will develop the ability to tell how som ething will play in performance. This is impossible to teach, but not hard to learn if you get som e practice. And it's price less— the most valuable experience I had while w orking on Sports Night was getting to read all the scripts in advance and then hear them at the table read (where they are first performed for any kind o f audience). At the beginning o f the year I was constantly surp rised wh en the audience would laugh at lines that had seemed mundane when I read them. By the 23rd episode, I had a pretty good idea how a script would play. For example. Tom Burgoon did a bit in a show at the Magic Castle Palace Theater, where he borrows a quarter and pretends to keep it— the stage m an ager brings out a metal bucket, and Tom throws in the coin. As the stage man ager leaves, Tom asks “how we doing this week?” The stage manager shakes the bucket, jingling the coins. How does this read to you? This shake of the bucket gets a laugh. It gets a laugh every time. I’ve seen it several times, and I've laughed every time. It’s just funny. I f you can read that, and tell that it will get a lau gh, you’re way ahead o f the game.

Notes This section discusses method, including the setup, if any. All of my own tricks are explained, and most of the contributed scripts, but not all scripts have detailed methods. Some moves are mentioned but not explained; this is not a book to teach technique. Moves are discussed if I have anything to offer on them, or if a specific handling is required. Many moves can be improved i f you think about them from a scripting perspective; see "Scripting Counts” on page 272. There are also general notes about things that aren’t really moves, but you have to do them a certain way, which you don’t want the audience to notice. For example, the script may say “Pete puts the deck down,” because that’s all you want the audience to perceive. But you may need to put it down a certain w ay— face up or face down, near the edge o f the table, in position for som e move to come, etc. This will be included in the Notes. Basically the Notes are a reminder of everything you have to do to make the trick work, which the

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 8

spectators are not aware of.

The rule is, if you don't want your audience to perceive it, do not put it in the script. This is actually pretty important. The script doesn’t just describe the presentation from the spectator’s perspective, it describes the presentation as you want the spectators to perceive and remem ber it. Th is, in many ways, is the essence of magic. The most important part of the Notes section is Adaptation, where you’ll find ideas on making the script yours. In the scripts that I’ve written, I’ll discuss choices you’ll face if you want to perform it, and for the contributed scripts, I’ll talk about how I would approach the trick if I were to add it to my repertoire. Obviously with some scripts, like the ones I’ve written, you should feel free to use any or all of the script if you want. Others, like the scripts for the Gypsy Thread contributed by Eugene Burger and John Lovick, you should not perform them, but instead see how they work, and why, and learn tech niques that you can use in your own scripts. Don’t overlook the Adaptation sections. Learning to adapt a trick to fit your personal style is a vital part of developing a personal style. Seeing examples o f other people’s adaptations helps you appreciate how many things you can vary. Most magicians learn, say, a coin trick, and when they go to personalize it, they change the moves. But what i f you replace the coins with poker chips, or brass washers, or track-and-field medals? When Al Baker said that most magicians stop thinking too soon, this is just the kind o f thing he was talking about.

We must neverforget that the details o f presentation are what make a trick. And study and thought brings us those details. The usual trouble is that we don't bother to think long enough or hard enough.

Al Baker SCRIPTING MAGIC | 7

Scriptwriting 101

The script is of ultimate importance when presenting an effect in a professional manner.

David Regal

T

his quote is pretty typical of what magic’s best thinkers and per formers have to say about scripting magic, as you’ll see for the next 400-odd pages. I carry little weight in this company, so if the other guys don’t convince you, I sure won’t.

Still, although there are many essays on the importance and benefits of

scripting your magic, there is precious little instruction on how to do so. I’m a teacher and a writer (and scriptwriter), so I can teach you how to write a script if you don’t know already. It’s not that hard.

Perspective The script describes everything that happens during the trick from the au  dience's perspective. I f writing a script does nothing more than help you think about your magic from the audience’s perspective, it will make you a better magician.

The Script Scripts are pretty simple. The sample on the next page is in what’s called Screenplay (i.e., movie) format, which is also used by most TV dramas. This is the best format for magic; Sitcom and Video format are both harder to read. This is, also, an intentionally bad script that no one would ever write. But you would be amazed how close many magicians come to this example in performance. So that’s one benefit of scripting mag ic— you won’t be as bad as this. The first line, "Joe Magician reaches etc.” is called an Action line. Action lines run the width of the page, with a double return after every paragraph. I set the spacing to 12 points after paragraph, so this happens automatically. But then, I’m a geek. O f course, you’re reading a magic book. Action lines include everything that isn’t dialog. You smile, the spectator signs a card, we hear the sound o f a piece o f paper ripping — everything you want the audience to perceive. And only include what you want the audience to remember. If you drop your hand to your side to turn over the top card against your leg, don’t put that in the script. Don’t even put it in parentheses,

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 8

Joe Magician reaches into his pocket and pulls out a red sponge ball. He hold s it up for everyone to see. Joe Here I have a sp on ge ball. If I put it in my hand... Joe puts the ball in his hand. Joe How many balls do I have in my hand? Spectator One? Joe Wrong! I have two! Joe opens his hand, showing two red sponge balls. Joe One, two. You idiot! Ha ha ha ha ha.

to remind yourself of the method. Your script plays a powerful role in deter min ing what the audience experiences. If you don't want them to experience your methods, don't put them in your scripts. Every action line is an opportunity to communicate something, so take your time writing them. “ Pete puts the card on the table'' is pretty vague. “ Pete plac es the card on the table” suggests a little care is being taken. “Pete slams the card on the table” is even more suggestive. A great habit when writing Action lines is to ask you rse lf how your character would influence your actions. I f I'm nervous, I might flub a shuffle. If I'm smooth, the shuffle will be impressive in some way. Action lines make characters. To improve your Action lines, read good movie scripts. Many are available on line— most writers I know start at Drew's Script-o-rama (script-o-rama. com). Make sure you get a script and not a transcript— this is crucial. A script was written by the person who wrote the movie. A transcript was written by a person who watched the movie and wrote down what happened.

Dialog is indented an inch on each side, with the same double returns as in action lines. Character names are indented another inch (two inches total).

Not all scripts have dialog. Cast Away was a three-hour movie with about twenty minutes of talking. The point is, you don’t have to say everything. This is another important benefit of writing good Action lines: The more you can show the audience, the less you have to tell them. The most important step in writing dialog is reading it out loud, in your full performance voice, with inflections, exactly as you would perform it. Most people do not write the way they talk. Reading your dialog out loud is the only cure. This is a hugely important point. I have long suspected that the real reason many magicians don't like scripting their performances is that they are not very good at reading dialog. But often the problem is the script itself. I f the dialog is not natural to you, you will sound unnatural when you say it. The solution is to rewrite the dialog. By the way, sometimes you will see “Pete (Cont.)” as a character name. In a movie or TV script, any time one character talks, then there’s an action line, then the same character speaks again, “(Cont.)” is put after the character’s name. I don’t use this convention throughout. There are many scripts in this book in which only the magician speaks; rather than put “(Cont.)” every time, I only put it in when it would make things clearer.

Conventions You Can Blithely Ignore Most TV and movie scripts use the Courier font. This is a pointless conven tion. Courier is a monospace font, for god’s sake, and it is not at all easy to read. In this book the scripts are in Lucida, which looks nice. Palatino is prob ably the easiest-to-read font on your computer, so use that. Also by convention, in a script you cannot use italics or bold, but you can use underline. This is another stupidly pointless limitation. Use italics, bold, whatever you want. Underline is the one thing you probably don't want to u se — it’s harder to read. Scripts all have an extra half-inch margin on the left side, so they can be three-hole-punched and bound with brass brads. Your scripts won’t be long enough to need this.

Software Over the last 30 years I have used dozens o f word processors and three scriptwriting programs. It’s easy to format a script with any of them, so use what you know. If you’re using a word processor, set up two styles: Dialog and Action. • Action is 12-point Palatino with full margins (i.e., zero on left and right). • Dialog is 12-point Palatino with margins 1 inch from the left and right. Put

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 10

a tab stop at the 2-inch mark for the character's names. Set up a command-key combination for each style, so you can switch back

and forth easily. And starting writing.

A vanced d tips If you are comfortable with the more advanced features of your word processor, you can make things even easier for yourself: • Set the “ Space after Paragraph” for the Action style to 12 points, so the extra returns between paragraphs will automatically be taken care of • If you want to put the Space after Paragraph to 12 points for Dialog, you'll have to use a line break instead of a return character after the character's name. I f you don't know what a line break is, don't bother with this.

• Turn on the paragraph format setting for “keep lines together” in both your Action and Dialog styles. That way each paragraph will stay on the same page. This makes everything easier to read.

Script Software I 've used these three: • Scriptware: I used this program every day for several years and it crashed at least once each day. Still, I kept using it, because it never brought down my system, so I could start it back up in about three seconds, and I couldn't afford a replacement. This is where I learned to hit command-S every time I pause for a few seconds. • Screenwriter 20 00 : This is what I use now. I have yet to find a feature that it doesn't do and do well. I don't think it's ever crashed. And the company has great support. • Final Draft: A lot o f writers us e this, and it's rob ust and full-featured. I didn't like the interface, but that was 5 years ago.

The art o f writing is the art o fapplying the seat of the pants to the seat o f the chair

Mary Heaton Vorse The Real Work The real work in scriptwriting, as in magic itself, is jus t that— it's real work. The only way to get good at anything is to do it for a long time. To get really good, make it a long, longtime. The first time you sit down to write a script, you may have no idea what to

write. One way around this is to put on a tape recorder and perform a routine, then sit down and transcribe what you said. Then read it. You may be sur prised at how boring it reads. This is incredibly common. The good news is, with a little scripting your magic will soon be much more entertaining, and more magical to boot. Now that you have a script, you can start making it better. Take every sen tence you don't need and eliminate it. Take every one you need and make it shorter or more interesting. Take every line that narrates your action and re place it with a line that comments on the action, which will do the same job in a more interesting way. Look out for long runs of dialog with no action. There's a good chance this will cause your audience's eyes to glaze over. Let me show you how this can work. I took the sponge-ball script from the beginn ing o f this article— the one where Joe Magician laughs at the idiot spectator— and spent 15 minutes trying to make it better. The results are on the next page, but don't look ahead yet. Actually, go back and read the original, then read the description of what I did, and then think about how you might do the same things. Then see how I did it. My first thought was to establish a premise, something for the presenta tion to be about. I started with the effect: The sponge is multiplying. Now, I'm pretty sure sponges reproduce asexually. This becomes the basis of the presentation, and everything else flowed right from that idea, including the “mood music” gag, which I really like. You migh t not choose asexual reproduction. Some performers don't like to emphasize that they're working with something compressible like a sponge; these performers will definitely want to pick some theme other than the asexual reproduction o f the com mon sponge. But pick something that appeals to you. Anything that means something to you will make your presentation stronger. I improved some o f the Action lines too. For example, “Joe puts the ball in his hand” was changed to “Joe closes his hand around the ball.” This, I think, is what you want the audience to rem em ber— not the transfer o f the ball from hand to hand.

Beyond Scriptwriting The only thing more important than working your script out in advance is remaining fully alive to your audience. That interaction takes priority over any script, and you must be ready and willing to leave the script behind and go with your audience at a mom ent's notice. The script will always be there when you come back.

C RIPTING MAGIC | 12 S

Chances Are... by Pete McCabe Joe This is a sponge ball. Joe holds up a red sponge ball. Joe Sponges reproduce asexually. That means you only need one. If I put it in a dark place... Joe closes his hand around the ball. Joe A little romantic lighting... Joe opens his fingers just a tiny bit. Joe ...mood music. Clears his throat. Joe (singing, to his fist) “Chances are...” (to audience) It could work. Joe opens his hand—there are two red sponge balls. Joe It worked!

Coins Across

F

or the first script of the book, I wanted to choose a very simple ex ample of the benefits of scripting. As you’ll see, there is no big story

wrapped around the trick, and the script doesn’t have any great jokes or clever lines. It mostly talks about what you’re doing, so it’s almost

a narrative script. But there’s a big difference between a script like this and one that simply talks about what you’re doing. In this script I mention what I’m doing, and I comment on it, but I’m talking about something else. This is where most narrative scripts fall flat; all they are about is what you’re doing. In this script I only mention what I’m doing to clarify and dramatize the overall point o f the script, w hich is the idea o f the vortex. It is this structural device of the vortex that makes this presentation effec tive. Many beginning scriptwriters focus on lines, and underestimate the im portance of structure. When I’m writing a script, the structure or hook comes first. Occasionally a good opening line, or a good closing line (or, best of all, an opening/closing line combination) will pop into my head before I have the structure. But I don’t write the script until I know what’s going to drive the presentation. The first presentation I used with this trick was very standard, with a script that highlighted the cleanliness of the handling (which is explained in the notes). This was okay, but it was all about what I was doing. Then, about ten years ago, I developed the "vortex” presentation you’re about to read, which uses the exact same handling but creates a very different effect. The new pre sentation has six magical moments, by usin g the strategy of breaking the p as sage of each coin into a separate vanish and reappearance. More importantly, the external reality of the trick has changed, in a way that directs the audi ence’ s attention away from the mu ndane details of the handling, and makes the magical effect seem more real. This, I’ d say, is exactly the goal o f any ma gi cal presentation.


The Vortex By Pete McCabe Int—LIVING ROOM—Evening Pete sits at a table, on which sits a small candle. Pete adjusts the candle to the exact center of the table. Pete Magic requires energy. That’s why magic ians u se a magic wand; i t’s a source of energy. In this trick, I use fire. Pete places three quarters on his left palm. Pete I’m not strong enough to do this on my own, but the flame creates a vortex—I’ll show you. Pete slowly closes his hand into a fist over the coins. Pete Three coins go into the vortex. But only two come out. Pete’s hand passes over the flame, then opens: only two coins. Pete The third is still in the vortex. Pete stares as the flame. Pete Here it is. Pete reaches into the flame and plucks out the missing coin. Pete Ow. Pete slaps the coin on the table and blows on his fingers.

Pete Little hot in there.

Pete shows the two coins in his left hand, then closes it. Pete Two coins enter... His hand passes through the flame, then opens: only one coin. Pete ...one coin leaves. The longer it stays in the vortex, the hotter it gets. Pete licks his fingers, then plucks the second coin from the flame. He immediately slaps it onto the table. Pete looks at the one coin remaining in his left hand. Pete People always ask, Why don’t you make the last coin go visibly? I’ll show you. Pete touches the coin to the flame, then puts it on the table. Pete That’s why. It’s much more magical... Pete picks up the last coin from the table and holds it up. Pete ...to do it invisibly. Pete passes the coin through the flame, and it vanishes. He licks his fingers, and plucks the last coin from the flame. He pl ace s it on th e table wit h th e others. Pete That’s the energy in a vortex of fire.

The End


Notes on The Vortex The basic idea of the vortex drives everything in this presentation. It justif i e s the use of the candle. It motivates breaking each coin’s passage into two s e p a r a t e magical moments. And the apparent heat of the vortex justifies both t h e slapping action of the Han Ping Chien and licking your fingers, which makes the final unnesting move easier. You can probably apply this to any vers i o n of Coins Across you already do. I use quarters for this trick — and for all the coin magic I do — because

t h e y’re more ordinary. But this presentation has a certain formal style built i

nto it, so if you bring out your special coins, it will still seem natural.

Method This trick is an extension of Geoff Latta’s “Thumb Touch Coins Across" routine from CoinMagic, to which I added a shell. When I first came up with this idea, I was extremely pleased by how clean it is. You show three coins in your left hand, close it and open it, and one coin is gone; the right hand slaps the coin on the table. This is immediately repeated with no extraneous actions whatsoever— no counting the coins from hand to hand or to the table, no steals, no hands coming together, etc. The third coin is very clean, but it uses an old gag so it isn’t quite as pure. But overall, I am not aware of a cleaner Coins Across routine. Most o f the credit goes to Geoff.

Performance Start by showing three coins; two quarters and a shell. Put the coins in your palm-up left hand; the shell goes last, overlapping the coin nearest the heel o f your hand. Keeping the hand palm up, close it, nesting the shell. Slowly pass your hand th rough the flame, and open it, showing two coins, as you explain that one coin was sucked into the flame. The left hand closes, and the right hand apparently plucks the coin from the flame and slaps it down on the table. In reality, you do Geoff Latta’s Ultimate Han Ping Chien move to produce the coin from under the shell. Here’s how: After you open your left hand to show only two coins, you look at the flame, as if trying to see the coin left behind. The left hand closes, but stays palm up. The tips of the third and fourth fingers curl over the edge of the shell and lift it just high enough to clear the coin underneath. This also creates a gap at the pinky side of the fist. None of this is visible to the audi ence, although it won’t matter, because after the fantastically clean vanish, all attention is on the flame. Reach into the flame with your empty right hand an d act like you’ve grasped


a coin. Look at the coin you’re pretending to hold, and smile.

Now slap the (pretend) coin onto the table in front of you. As the right hand comes down, the left hand moves out of the way to your left. The left hand moves out from under the second coin, which falls onto the table under the right hand. It helps if the left hand m oves very slightly downward first. This palm up handling is Geoff Latta’s addition to the classic Han Ping Chien move. It's extremely elegant and disarming; having your hands palm up creates an atmosphere o f fairness. Practice this one well; your right fingers should touch the coin, gently, before the coin hits the table. Slapping the coin on the table is a great moment for a silent script. As you hold up the coin to look at it, think "Got it” and then almost immediately think “Hot!” If you actually said these things it would completely undermine the moment. But if you just think them, and then blow on your fingers, it’ll completely justify the slapping action of the Han Ping Chien. Leave the first coin on the table and repeat everything for the second coin; open the left hand, showin g two coins, close the hand (nesting the shell), wave it through the flame, and open to show one coin. Repeat the H.P.C. move to pluck the coin from the flame. This coin should be slapped down directly onto the one already on the table. If not, adjust the coins so one slightly overlaps the other. But to tell you the truth, i f you can’t do the move well eno ugh to control where the coin goes, then you probably should practice your Ultim ate Han Ping Chien some more. Open the left hand, showing the last coin (the shell), and mention that ev eryone always wants to see the coin travel visibly. Demonstrate by touching the coin (shell) to the flame, then placing it onto the two already on the table, overlapping the uppermost coin to the right. After this classic but solid gag, you apparently pick up the coin in the left hand, but really you nest the shell onto one o f the coins and come away with nothing. The left hand moves into the flame and “va nish es” the coin. Lick your right fingers, then pretend to pluck the coin and lay it on the table. As your hand moves away to reveal the third coin, you secretly un ne st the shell and move it to the right, half its diameter. The key to this unnesting move is that the right hand moves from left to right as it approaches the two coins. The right hand touches the coins and keeps m oving; the thumb hits the back of the shell and lifts it up just long enough for the coin to move to the right, then lets go as the hand moves aside. Your fingers will be extra tacky from licking them, which makes this move easier.


Adaptation T h i s is my script, so you’re welcome to use any or all of it if you like. I f

the Inst ( h o u r you’ll make is what object will you use to represent

I the vortex. That will determine, more than anything else, the tone of the preI i r r i t a t i o n . With a candle, this is actually an elegant piece. In a private setting, I w i t h t h e lights down low, the atmosphere is irresistible. But you can replace

I tin candle with just about an ything— I've done this with a small pile o f salt I on the table, and it played very well. The lesson, I think, is that having a clear, I spec ific magical cause for the effect is more important than what that specific

I cause is. One thing I've played with is some sort of visual effect for the vanish o f the I last coin. I tried stealing a small piece o f flash paper from my lap right before I the false pick up of the last coin, so it would vanish in a burst of flame. This I is a terrific climax to this routine. Now that I have two young children, I don't

I keep flash paper in the house, but this is definitely worth trying. A moment like this can turn a great trick into som ething people rememb er for years. Even if you don't use my script or handling, you can probably take any vers ion of Coins Across you already know and tweak it to break the travel of each ? coin into a separate vanish and reappearance. I f you do, I think you'll like it. It creates a strong moment between the vanish and the subsequent appearance where the coin is in a sort o f limbo. Don't ru sh through that mom en t— it can create a powerful atmosphere o f mystery i f you let it breathe.

References “The Vortex'' appeared in AM/PM, Tom Cutts's underground magazine on presentation. Geoff Latta's “Ultimate Han Ping Chien” and “Thumb Touch Coins Across" appeared in CoinMagic by Richard Kaufman, Kaufman and Greenberg, 1982.

Screenplays are structure.

William Goldman SCRIPTING MAGIC | 19

Torn and Restored Card

L

ike the last script, this doesn't add a story of any kin d— it’s entirely narrative. (Don’t worry — the Jacks will be detectives soon enough.)

All you talk about is what you're doing. Despite that it is really pretty good at the three most important things a script can be good at:

drawing the audience in, dramatizing the magic, and finally, covering the method. So I think this is a good example of the benefits you can get from scripting, even if all you do is talk about what you're doing. This script doesn't, strictly speaking, narrate what you do. It comments on what you are doing, which is subtly different. This avoids most o f the prob lems of narrative patter.

It’ll Be A Miracle By Pete McCabe Int— Home—Evening Pete sits at the table with Alex. Pete What does it take to make a miracle? Sometimes the simplest thing can become a miracle if the situation is right. Let me show you my favorite example of that. Pete takes a deck of cards and begins running through them. Pete For this, I need you to sign a card... Pete pulls out the Four of Hearts. Pete This is good. Pete draws a circle on the card, then hands the card and a Sharpie to Alex. Pete Draw your initials inside that circle. Alex initials the card while Pete puts the rest of the deck aside. Pete Thanks. Here’s wh at ’s going to ha pp en. Pete picks up the card case in his left hand. He takes Alex’s signed card in his right hand. Pete I am going to insert... your signed Four of Hearts... into the cardcase. Pete puts the card in the case.


Pete Take it out...

Pete removes the card f r o m the case. Pete ...and it'll be a miracle. Pause. Pete Now, this is a pretty sim ple thing. Put the Four of Hearts in the cardcase... Pete puts the card in t h e case. Pete ...take ito u t . . . Pete remov es the card fr o m the case. Pete How can th a t be a miracle? What could make that s i m p le thin g into a miracle? Pause. Pete I’ll showyou. Pete table s the cardcase and slowly tear s the card into four pieces. He picks up the c ard ca se and opens it dramatically. Pete Put the signed card... inside the box. Pete dro ps each piece o f the to rn card, one at a time, into the box. Pete Take it out... Pete opens the casean d draws ou t an intact playing card.

Pete

...a nd... He slowly tu rn s the ca rd to th e a udien ce — it’s the sign ed Four of Hearts. Pete ...It’s a miracle.

I he End


Notes on It'll Be A Miracle This trick, called “Torn and Reboxed,” appeared in my One Man Parade in the May 2002 Linking Ring. You’ll need an Angel Case, a Paul Harris creation. I asked Paul if I could tell you how to make one and he said it’s cool.

Angel Case You’re going to add an extra wall to your cardcase, held in place by the cel lophane wrapper. Open a new deck and leave the cellophane on. Then take a duplicate case and cut out the front (thumb notch) side— the side that shows the back design. Trim this so it fits under the cellophane on the original case, with the edge o f the fake lining up with the edge o f the cellophane. You can now hide someth ing thin un der this flap, then show the case em p ty. And when you’re not using it, it’s just your cardcase.

Method This is an easy trick to learn — there’s only one m ove— and it’s really ter rifically clean. To setup, take your deck and put the Four of Hearts third from the bottom, then case the deck. Take a duplicate Fou r o f Hearts, draw a circle in the center, and draw in your initials. If you know the person you’ll be performing for, write their initials. Th en slide this card un der the cellophane on the back (flap) side of the case, with the back out. The audience will not notice that your case shows a back design on both sides. For ten years I kept an extra card in my cardcase loaded in just this way, every single time I did magic. This includes countless hours with m agician friends, not one o f whom ever noticed. In performance, take the deck out o f the case and run through it, as i f look ing for a good card for this trick, and remove the Four of Hearts. A force is wasted dead time here— since the card is signed, it makes no difference if it was selected or not. Draw a circle on the selection and have Alex initial it. Take the card in your right hand, and pick up the case in your left. Hold the case so the flap end is to your right, and the thumb-notch side is facing up. Insert the signed Four of Hearts, face up, into the box. Pause as per the script, then remove the card, taking it with the right thumb on the face and the fingers underneath. Put it back in, continuing with the script, and remove it again. But this time, you’re going to leave the signed card in the box and secretly pull the duplicate from underneath. Your thumb touches the face of the card, and underneath the box, your right fingers contact the duplicate. Look up at Alex and deliver the line (“...remove it...”); as Alex looks up at you, your hands tilt toward you just


a little, and you draw the extra card from under the plastic. The audience sees you remove a Four o f Hearts with a circle and initials on it, and as soon as the duplicate is clear, lift it up, which brings the back to the audience. This is not hard to do if you practice in a mirror to get the timing right. If you do twenty reps you’ll have the basic idea. It’s also covered by strong psychological cover; you’re doing the exact same thing you just did seconds before; it wasn ’t interesting then and it’s less so now. Just m ake sure that when you rem ove the card fairly the first time, you match the action o f the switch. On to the miracle. Tear the card in h al f and ha lf again. Now you can show both sides of all pieces freely; no one can tell that the initials don’t match the original. Pick up the box, and this time hold it vertical in your left hand. The right hand draws back the flap as the left first finger pushes against the thumb-notch o f the cardcase, opening the false wall. Drop the four pieces in, and close the flap, which locks the false wall in place. Pause. Th is pause is 25% o f the trick. Open the case and pour the restored, signed card on the table. Drop the cardcase in your pocket. The m ost important part o f this trick is your attitude. W hen you first put the card in the case and remove it, you do it carefully and with full attention. The second time you ’re just demonstrating while you repeat yourself, so you don’t pay much attention; all your attention is on your audience. The third time you are careful again, but it’s too late — the move is done.

Adaptation The “third time will be a miracle” hook can be adapted to a slew of tricks. It gives you a terrific motivation to do the exact same thing twice, while ensur ing that people will pay attention to the first time, when it’s fair, then not pay attention the second time, when it’s not.

References The Angel Case is in The Art o f Astonishment, Book 2 by Paul Harris, A-1 Multimedia, 19 96 . Torn and Reboxed first appeared in The Linking Ring, May, 2002.

The Invisible Deck

W

hat most magician s— and I — call the Invisible Deck is ac tually the Ultra Mental Deck, which was invented by Joe Berg. It is a simple variation of Brainwave, which was popu larize d— and maybe even invented— by Dai Vernon. Eddie

Fields applied the Invisible Deck presentation to the Ultra Mental deck; this combination was popularized by Don Alan, so much so that the trick itself is known by the name o f its presentation. Perhaps because the trick itself is so perfect, there is not as much variety in its presentation as you might expect from a trick done by every magician in the world. Don Alan's “classic” script is so good that apparently everybody decided to just do it pretty much verbatim. I wonder how many magicians who say that they don’t like to script their magic actually pe rform Don’s script for this trick. The first choice most presentations of this trick address is the specific ef fect. Did you reverse a card in advance as a prediction o f what card the specta tor would name? Did you magically reverse a card after the spectator named it? Did the spectator divine the one card you had randomly reversed? A spe cific effect is necessary to turn the trick into something personal. That’s what makes people remember the trick years later. Here are three different scripts you can use with an Ultra Mental Deck, each quite different. The first script that follow s— called “It’s the Future” — is de signed not for comedy, but to magnify the spectator’s sensation that they have witnessed som ething deeply impossible. Th e second script is called “ Super Power” and is a piece of mentalism for kids, in which the kids demonstrate a power they don’t know they have. Th is is always a powerful presentation strat egy, but is virtually necessary if you want to perform mentalism for kids. The third script uses a trick I call “Flight Suit” to create a different, physically im possible effect in which a freely selected card, untouched by the magician , van ishes from the spectator’s hands and flies to the deck. It’s a great trick— dead easy, utterly clean, suprem ely m ag ical— but more important than the trick is the presentation. It gives the audience a priceless sense that they are seeing something special, and you can easily adapt it to any trick you already do. Because “ It’s the Future” uses equivoque, there are a couple o f places where the script breaks into two sections side-by-side, depending on the spectator’s answer. It’s worth noting how the two different answers are brought back to the same point in the script.


It’s the Future by Pete McCabe Ini

-Living Room—Evening

Pete sits at the table, across from Alex. Pete Did you ever see something, in your imagination, before it happened? It’s not your imagination, it’s the future. I was watching a football game, this is twenty years ago, Giants against the Lions. Fourth quarter, tie score, suddenly I could see, in my imagination, Lawrence Taylor running back an interception fo r a touchdown. Next play, Lawrence Taylor runs back an interception 97 yards for a touchdown. It’s not your imagination, it’s the future. Pete removes the deck from the cardcase. Pete I have spent many hours trying to do that again, b ut a lot of it is beg in ne r’s luck. That’s why I need you—you’re a beginner. Pete takes the four Kings and arranges them, beneath the table, into a small packet, which he places face down in front of Alex. Pete Please don’t touch these cards—it would compromise the experiment. I can tell you they are the four Kings, and I’ll show them to you soon. The rest of the deck is placed aside. Pete For now, I’d like you to imagine four Kings floating in the air in front of you. These are the black Kings, Clubs and Spades. Pete holds the imaginary pair of black cards in his right hand.


Fete

These are red, Hearts and Diamonds. Pete holds up the imaginary red cards in his left hand.

Pete Black... and red. Yes? Alex Yes. Pete Good. Thank you. Now, I want you to imagine one p air —either color— slowly floating down onto the table. Alex watches the imaginary cards float down to the table. Pete Which pair floated down? Alex Red. Pete smiles—maybe a little impressed. Pete Good. Now... Pete looks at the tabletop. Pete Here on the table are two red Kings. Imagine them—the Heart, the Diamond. Put the black ones over there. Just look at the red Kings.

Alex Black. Pete sm iles —maybe a little impressed. Pete Good. Now... Pete leans in close toAlex. Pete In front of your eyes are two red Kings. Imagine th em —the Heart, the Diamond. Put the black ones over there. Just look at the red Kings.

With his h ands, Pete indic ates two separate imaginary cards.

Pete

Imagine you take away the King of Hearts or the King of Diamonds. (pause) Which was it? Alex King of Hearts.

Alex King of Diamonds.

Pete Take the King of Hearts—good. Imagine the King of Hearts, in your hand. Put the Diamond away—put it on the black Kings.

Pete (With a wave) Away the King of Diamonds. Put it on the black Kings.

Alex puts the King of Diamonds on the black kings. Pete Now the King of He arts is in fr ont of you. Turn it face down, and put it on the other Kings. Tell me when you can imagine it. Pete waits for Alex to see it. Alex Got it. Pete You didn’t see the way I set up the cards, right? Alex Right. Pete You just imagined the black Kings, face up on the bottom, the King of Diamonds on top of them, and the King of Hearts, face down, on top of tha t. But it’s not yo ur imagination. It’s the future.


Fete cleanly spreads the packet of cards; they exactly match Alex’s imagination. Pete Here they are; the two black Kings, then the King of Diamonds on top of them, and on top, one card face down... The King of Hearts. Pete turns up the face down card. The King of Hearts. Pete All right, now the more you do this, the less of a beginner you are, so we’re gonna cut right to the big finish. Imagine an entire deck of cards—I want you to see them in the air, in a fan, right in front of my face. Pete makes a framing gesture around his face with his hands. Pete They’re all facing you, you can see them all. But one card is face down. Tell me when you see a face-down card. Alex Got it. Pete Good. Now see that card turning to face you. What card is it? Alex The Ten of Spades. Pete You can see all the cards facing you, and one facing away. Pete picks up the deck and begins to spread the deck in front of Alex’s face. All the cards are face up.


Pete

All facing you but one, just like in your imagination. A face down card appears in the spread. Pete removes this card

and holds it up. Pete Except... it’s not your imagination. It’s the future. He turns it to Alex. It’s the Ten of Spades.

The End


Notes on It's the Future Much mentalism is presented as a demonstration of a power the magician has, which the audience doesn’t understand. This goes the other way, present ing a power the audience has, which they themselves don’t understand. Giv ing the audience power is always a good way to get them involved. This is a good example o f what can happen when two tricks are combined into one presentation. The routine builds in impossibility to great effect, and the meth ods— equivoque and rough-and-smooth— cancel either other per fectly.

Method I tried to make the equivoque section seem more impossible by expanding the result. So instead of me predicting the King of Hearts, I seem to predict the order of all four Kings, plus the reversed card. This is built into the equi voque proce ss— all you have to do is point it out in your script. I also like to have the spectators imagine a physical proces s— they’re not just making choices, they’re moving cards around, putting them on the table, etc. I feel this helps hide the forcing aspects o f the procedure.

Setup Go to any magic store and buy an Invisible Deck. Take the Ultra Mental Deck they sell you and remove the Kings. Separate the deck into odds and evens (Jacks are odd, Queens are even) and put them in back-to-back pairs, with all the odd cards facing one way and the evens the other. Hold the deck with the odd cards facing up and insert the Kings face up at random locations (don’t put them between two back-to-back cards). Put the deck in the cardcase so when you open it, the odd cards and Kings will be face up.

Performance Begin by uncasing the deck. Put the cardcase to your left side o f your per form ing surface. Remove the Kings, then put the deck on top of the cardcase. This is imp ortant— you have to put the deck on top o f the cardcase every time you do this trick. Take the Kings below the table and arrange them, top down: face down King o f Hearts, face up King o f Diamonds, face up black Kings. Table this packet. In the first selection, Alex puts two Kings on the table. I f Alex puts the black ones, you follow up by saying “put them aside,” as i f that were what you meant all along. I f Alex picks the red Kings, the black Kings are put aside, to get them out o f the way. Either way the black Kings end up on the table to the side.


Diamonds is eliminated with the standard request that the spectator “take away” one card. If it's the heart, you emphasize that Alex took it. If it’s the dia mond, you emphasize that Alex took it away. After the four Kings phase, Alex will name any card. At this point, there’ s a 50% chance you will have to secretly reverse the deck. Here’s how: As you are saying “You can see all the cards facing you, and one facing away,” your palm down left hand picks up both the deck and the card box from above, and turns palm up, which brings the box to the top. Casually put the box aside with your right hand. This is completely natural; it’s actually easier to pick up the deck and re verse it than it is to pick it up w ithout reversin g it (the sam e goes for putting it down). Plus the script at that point keeps Alex focused on the mental picture. Raise the deck to eye level and spread the cards. This is, from a presenta tional perspective, much better than spreading the cards at table level, with people looking at them from above. It makes it much easier for people to see what is happening, and keeps your face in the frame. Technically it’s better as well, as you can just spread until you find the named card, without having to use some system to remember which card it’s paired with.

Adaptation The story about Lawrence Taylor is true. Thanksgiving day, 1982 : 1 saw the play in my mind, and then it happened, exactly the same. Now, I’ve seen other plays in my mind, and they didn’t happen. But I don’t talk about those in the script. You can pick a true story or make one up. Whichever you feel comfortable with. You don’t actually need a story; you could just ask your audience i f this has happened to them. It’s happened to almost everybody, so you shouldn’t have a problem. But you should still be prepared with a story of your own, because it’s easier for the spectators to respond to your story than to put one forward themselves.

References If you want a comedy presentation for this trick, you can learn Don Alan’ s script by reading Jon Racherbaumer’s book In a Class by Himself, or by watch ing just about any half-decent magician. While you’re at it, think about how good a script Eddie Fields wrote that the name o f his presentation actually took over the name of the trick.


Super Powers by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Day Pete is surrounded by a group of kids. He looks at one kid named Alex. Pete Alex, do you have any super powers? Alex No. Pete Do you know anybody who has super powers ? Alex Superman. Pete Superman, and Spider-Man too. I think you have super powers, you just don’t know it. I think you can magically read my mind. Do you want to try? Alex Yes. Pete removes a deck of cards and begins spreading them between his hands. Pete These cards all have different names on them. Here’s Monty, Pattie, Robby, Chris, Lucy, Mary... Alex, here’s a card with your name on it. As Pete spreads the cards, one card is face down.


Pete

And loo k— th er e’s ju s t one name th at’s face down. Does anybody know what name this is? No one knows. Pete No one kn ow s but me. The only way yo u could know is if you could read my mind. Pete turns the card face up: it says “Pete.” Pete This is my name: Pete. Alex, in a minute I’m going to think of one of these names and you’re going to read my mind? It’s gonna be one of these, but don’t say your own name, that’s too obvious. Okay? Now, nobody look. That would be cheating. Pete turns his back on the children and begins looking through the deck fast. Pete (Fast) Let’s see, hmm, no, not that one, no, nope, maybe, no, no no no—hey! Don’t look! Pete peeks over his shoulder suspiciously, trying to catch the kids spying on him. Pete Tha t’s better. (Even faster) Hmm, no, d on ’t think so, maybe, no, not that one, this one? Okay. Pete turns back to face the kids. Pete All right, Alex. Put your hands like this... Pete dramatically puts his hand to his forehead. Alex does the same.


Pete

Now, tell me what na me I turned over. Alex Joe. Pete Let’s see if you have read my mind. Pete spreads the cards until he comes to the one reversed card. Pete If this says Joe, you definitely have super po wers . Pete shows the card; it says “Joe.” Pete It says Joe! Let’s he ar it for Alex the m ind reader!

The End


Notes on Super Powers The script for this trick probably seems like nothing. And it certainly is very simple. You could probably improvise this pretty easily. But there are a few things working in it that you might not get if you didn’t at least think about it in advance. The first is at the beginning where you spread the deck and find your own name reversed. This helps communicate the basic idea o f isolating a card by it being the one card reversed in the deck, which is neither a familiar nor obvi ous concept to most kids. The “preview” o f the effect really makes the magic easier to appreciate— it helps the kids understand that it’s impossible to know what card it was. Don’t forget the line where you make it clear that the kid couldn’t possibly know which card it is, which takes the sting out of their not being able to answer your question. And don’t leave out the line where you remind Alex to pick a name that’s in the deck.

Method First, you have to make the props. Start with two blank-faced decks. Take one and write, with a thick Sharpie, a different name on each card. One of the cards must have your name, and the others should be the 51 most common kids names that you might encounter in your audience. Write in such a way that you can read the name while spreading through the deck— you might want to put the name across the card in large letters, and repeat the name smaller where the index goes. Use colored markers, because this is a kids trick, and i f you like, decorate the cards with stars, hearts, circles, etc. Now write the same names on the other deck. Take one deck and rough the backs. Put the cards in pairs, back to back, so that all the names from A-L (or whatever separation gives you 26 names in each half) are facing one way and the M -Z names are facing the other. You now have a deck that can reveal any o f the names as the only one reversed. Put this deck in your inside jacket pocket (or shirt pocket). Take the ungaffed deck, reverse the card that has your name, and put it in the cardcase.

Performance I usually interact more with the kids than is shown in the script. If Alex can’t think of anybody with super powers, I suggest Superman, Spiderman, etc. If Alex does claim magic powers, I ask what power, etc. That sort o f thing. Introduce the cased deck, spread it, and find the card with your name re versed. Now you’re going to turn around and ostensibly reverse one card, but

SCRIPTING MAGIC

in reality you switch in the gaffed deck. This is the easiest deck switch you'll ever do; the script motivates you to turn around and secretly manipulate the deck in such a way that nobody can see what you are doing. While this is going on, you are switching between talking a mile a minute and pretending to catch them spying on you, both o f which are hilarious to the kids. The most important part of this trick is the section where the kid pretends to read your mind. I f you choose a good kid, this will be hilarious. Don't rush through it. Magicians have a tendency to rush through anything that isn't the method. This is always bad, but ten times worse when you're performing for kids. The kid reading your mind is the show.

Adaptation The biggest choice you'll have to make is how slapstick you want to make this, which will probably depend on the age of your audience. The beauty of it is, even older kids who think your antics are lame will still be blown away by the trick. Smart kids may well guess that the reversed card has your nam e on it. I f so, congratulate them, and when you do the repeat, add something to the effect that you're going to pick a random name, which is much harder, etc. I have toyed with changing the effect to one where Alex mentally forces me to turn over a given card. Kids are, if anything, even more enthralled by the idea of forcing adults to do their bidding.

References The United States Social Security Administration website will gladly tell you the most popular baby names for any year since 1880 . www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/ It's not necessary that your names be currently popular, and in California, it's virtually impossible, since it is a quintessentially California thing to give your baby a name or variant spelling no one has ever heard o f before. But it is desirable that they be familiar to your audience. It helps to put in the first nam es of famou s people, celebrities, athletes, etc. You'd be surprised how these references will help the kids engage with the trick.

My Tribute to Vernon by Pete McCabe Int

Magic Castle— Night

Pete sits at a table in the main bar of the Magic Castle, across

from Alex. Pete Twenty-three years ago, in this very room, Dai Vernon did a trick for me. There was no big presentation—he told me what to do and I did it myself. But I remember very clearly how de eply impossible it was, because he did n’t to uch the cards. I know many magicians consider Dai Vernon the greatest sleight-of-hand artist who ever lived. But he didn’t touch the cards! Pete removes the cardcase and place it on the table. Pete And so, having practiced magic as a hobby for twenty years, I wanted to learn that trick—so my audiences could feel the same thing I did. It wasn’t in any of his books, so I asked some magicians who knew Vernon. And it turned out... no one ever saw him do that trick. Pete removes the cards from the case and places them face up on the table. Pete It must have been a new trick he was working on, and he died not long after. I may be the only person who ever saw this trick. I would like to perform it for you. Pete looks through the deck and removes the Hearts, placing them aside.

Pete

I never found out how Dai Vernon did it, so this may not be the exact same trick he did for me. But this is my tribute to Dai Vernon. Pete places the deck aside and spreads the Hearts on the table. Pete I’d like you to select any one of these Hearts. Mix them if you want. Pick one up. Alex picks up the Seven of Hearts. Pete Make the rest into a neat stack, if you would. I’d do it but I don’t want to touch the cards. Dai Vernon didn’t touch the cards, and neither will I. Alex squares up the rest of the cards. Pete Now lift up about ha lf the stack, turn your card face down, and stick it back in the stack. Alex buries the Seven of Hearts face down in the stack of face up cards. Pete Thank you. What you just did is exactly what I did, 23 years ago. This is what Dai Vernon did. Pete waves his hands over the packet of Hearts, then over the rest of the deck. Pete Actually, he was holding a cigar, but other than that, that’s it. You picked the Seven of Hearts, and put it back yourself. All Dai Vernon did was wave his hands, and look! Pete picks up the Hearts and counts them to the table.


Pete

One two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve. And the Seven of Hearts is gone! (Pause) Where’d it go?

Pete spreads the deck: one card is reversed. Pete shows it to the

audience.

It's the Seven of Hearts.

Pete And that is my tribute to Dai Vernon.

The End


Notes on My Tribute to Vernon This is a great ex am ple o f a script that uses “ narrative ” patter and turns it into something more th an a simple narrated trick. This presentation grabs the audience’s attention, and enhances their sense that they are se ein g som ething sp ec ia l-w ith o u t any “s to ry ” being applied to the trick. Th e introduction com municates how im po rta nt magic is to you, how seriously you take it, and how hard you work for the audience’s enjoyment. These are incredibly powerful messages. By the way, I never m et Vernon. It’s plausible, but I made it up.

Method This is a handling I wo rke d up a few years ago. The fi rs tdraft was two Ultra Mental decks, any card vanishes from one deck and appears reversed in the other. In creating A Tribute to Vernon, I figured Vernon would streamline the trick to one deck, which inspired this final version of the trick, which I call Flight Suit. Just another way scripting can lead to improvements in the trick itself, and vice versa.

Setup You need two complete Heart suits and 26 random non-hearts, all roughed on the back. If you don’t have a bottle o f roughing fluid and can’t rememb er that it’s just Tester’s Dull Cote, or maybe you just prefer to support your local magic shop, buy two Ultra Mental decks and take the pairs apart. Take a complete Heart suit, in order, and put each one back to back with a random non-Heart card. Hold this ha lf deck w ith the Hearts face up, and put h alf the remaining non-Hearts face down on top. Now put the rest o f the nonHearts face down beneath. You now have a 39-card Ultra Mental deck can reveal any Heart as the only reversed card. Turn this mini-deck so the non-Hearts are f ace up and distribute the other Heart suit, face up, through the deck. Case the deck and write Flight Suit in pencil on the box. No one will ever see it.

Performance At the be ginn ing o f the trick, when you sp read this deck to rem ove the Hearts, you will see 39 faceup cards, 13 H ea rts and 26 non-Hearts; the 13 face-down Hearts don’t show. Believe it or not , this is the hardest mom ent in the trick, because you want to spread the cards confidently and casually, with enough force to show all the face-up cards, bu t without separating any o f the roughed pairs. What I ’m saying is, you m ig h t not think to practice spreading


through a deck and removing the Hearts, but for this trick you really should. Put the rest of the deck down on the table, somewhere the spectators won’t grab for it. If you’re standing, put it near your crotch. Nobody will grab a prop if they have to reach for your crotch to get it. The vanish of the selected heart happens automatically. When you count the packet, the face down selection clings to the face up card above it. This idea is very, very old, and has been subtly used by many clever m agicians. I am sure

Vernon could have come up with this idea, given his early experimentation with rough-and-smooth. Now pick up the rest of the deck and spread them at eye level, faces toward the audience. The hidden Hearts are visible to you, so when you get to the selected card you just separate it from its back-to-back partner, in classic Ultra Mental deck fashion.

Adaptation I believe that any magician can use this basic presentational structure and hook with any trick, from the smallest close-up miracle to the largest stage ililusion. It can be played by any perform er at any age, working in any style. And it can make almost any presentation better, more interesting, more special, and more magical. You don’t really have to write a script and mem orize it — you can just pick any magician you’d like to pay tribute to, and improvise o ff the basic idea. And you don’t have to pick a m ag ician— it can be your grandpa who did one trick for you every year on Christmas eve, and you decided to track it down, and none o f your m agician friends had any idea how it could be done, and maybe your grandpa invented one sublime trick, and you’re going to keep it alive. You can also change the story with each venue you perform. You don’t ac tually have to use a magician whose life overlapped with yours. You can say that Houdini was famous for performing this trick, and you’ve read detailed reports of the exact effect written up by the best magicians of the day, who were com pletely fooled, etc. And now, as a tribute to his memory, you’re going to perform this effect, exactly as you’ve been able to recreate it.

Eugene Burger and John Lovick: A Theatrical Endeavor

E

ugene Burger needs no introduction to anyo ne interested in the the atrical presentation of magic. He's a wonderful thinker and writer, and one of the most successful close-up magicians in the world.

Several outstanding books and DVDs show the depth and quality of Eugene’s thinking on all things magical. John Lovick probably doesn’t need an intro duction. He’s written articles and books, including SWITCH , is an associate editor at M AGIC m agazine, created “The Reparation,” gives a great lecture, and his alter ego Handsome Jack is a star at the Magic Castle. So, no introduction. Both of these gentlem en are experts in scripting magic. I interviewed them together to see how their approaches to scripting agree and differ.

Pete First question is do you script ev ery effect, or just some? Eugene I script everything. Jo hn Everything, I sit down and write out wha t I’m go ing to say. W ell— I do a few effects where I’ve worked out the script in rehearsal and performance. But every word is eventually written down. Pete Did you always? What made you start? Eugene When I beca me a professio n al m a gician. And I re a liz ed — I had to take this thing seriously. Jo hn I’ve always scripted everything. I’ve worked in theater basically


all my adult life. I worked in the theater before I worked as a ma gician, so using scripts is what I know, and that’s how I’m comfort able. Pete What is th e big gest benefit you ge t from scripting your effects? Eugene Well, it allo w s you to pause. (pause) An d it allo w s you to build in pau s es. And it allows you to ask rather interesting questions. Years ago I did a lecture at the Magic Castle, on timing. And about 20 minutes into it a little light went on in my head, and I said "Eugene , y o u ’re an idiot. These people have nothing to time!” So I taught four card tricks, everybody was happy. Pete and John laugh.

Eugene

If you have a sentence, you can a s k some fascinating questions, l ike what word ge ts punch ed in that sentence? Is there a pause In the sentence? Where does it g o ? How long is it? What is yo ur face doing during this pause? But If y ou’re just ad-libbing, doing it different ev ery time, none o f these questions are meaningful. Pete And to have a pause , an d to le ar n how long the pause is going to be, and where it goes, you need a script. Eugene Yes, because most m agicia ns are jabbering. T h ey’re ta lk in g en d lessly, too much, too fast. And therefore, the whole thing gets trivialized. It’s pauses that make things serious. If you want to do a long pause, you could get an audi ence to be really quiet and right with you. But if y o u ’re ju st ja b b er ing all the time, they start looking at their watches. Because what’s going on isn’t important. Pete One reason I dislike the word pat ter so much is that sense of con stant, nonstop, not really impor tant, noise. Eugene It’s called Gesprache, idle chatter. Speech where nothing is revealed. John One huge advantage of scripting is that it helps you improve with

every show. Even if you don’t record your show—which you shou ld do — if yo u have it scr ipt  ed, at least you can go back and remember the performance, what work ed an d what did n’t, because you kn ow what you sa id. But if it’s all off the top of your head, you w on’t re m em ber a lot of it. So you can’t remember what worked and what did n’t. Having a scr ip t help s you ge t better fo r your next per formance, because it helps you evaluate how good you were at this one. Pete So, have you noticed that the ben efits you get from scripting have changed over time? Do you get different benefits now than when you were ju st sta rting out? Eugene The benefit you get over time is recognition. I’m going to Austra lia tomorrow. Part of excellence is understanding that magic is a the atrical endeavor. If we’re not go ing to put all of our energy behind that, we’re just going to be medio cre magicians. But if you’re willing to put some energy into some thing, some work, and thought, then you can excel. And you get to go to nice places on other people’s money. Pete Jo hn, have you notice d the sa me benefits, perhaps not as a famous performer like Eugene. Jo hn I have my own cult following.


Eugene laughs. Pete I'm a member of the Handsome Jack Fan Club. But do you get more out of scripting now than when you wrote your first sc rip t?

want to com m unica te, and ge t the trick and a script from there?

Eugene It’s always different. Sometimes I start with a trick, and then I try to w rite a script fo r it. Other times I start with just a line. I had the Jo hn line “Highlights in the History of The first complete routine I ever Christianity... told with a deck of put together was the Linking cards” in my wallet for 9 years be Rings. I spent six months on it be fore I realized I could attach that fore I was even to Card Warp, w illing to do it which I’d been It's called Gesprache: for the magic 15 doing for club. I think it’s idle chatter. Speech where years. Now, be a beautiful trick cause it’s script nothing is revealed. and it’s one of ed, I can dial it the few tricks in down, if I want. magic where the secret is beautiful For instance, “Highlights in the as well. So I studied everything, I History of Religion... told with a researched 3 -ring routines, 6-ring deck of cards.” So we don’t put all routines, 4 -ring routines, 5-ring the emphasis on Christianity. On routines, 8-ring routines, and fi the other hand, when I did this on nally decided the perfect number the Paul Daniels show in England, I of rings was 5 . And then I worked did “Highlights in World History... on finding something to say that with a deck o f card s,” not ev en w as en te rtain in g, id eally relevan t. opening the religious box. A fter six m onth s I showed it to the magic club, and it got a much bet When you have a sc rip t, th ese ter response than anything else kinds of options are open to I’d ever done. So, if I didn’t know you. Bec au se I th ink the game of the value of scripting before that, the magician is to create clever I certainly learned it then. And it’s mousetraps. And you need to a lesson that keeps getting rein know what your audience will re forced, year after year. spond to. To do “Highlights in the History of Christianity” on nation Pete al television in England is getting Where do you st art? Do you take a half the people irritated with you trick that appeals to you and de before you’ve started. But if you velo p a script fo r it, do yo u start don’t have a sense of what you’re with a sc ript, an d figure out the doing, you’re adrift. That’s one technical details afterwards, or thing scripting has always done do you start with an idea that you for m e— it gives me the track. And


yo u can go off the trac k if y o u ’re feeling particularly clever today. But you know, some days I don’t feel clever. I feel really dull. And so I ju st stay on script.

to get better, by letting you get closer and closer to your goal. Eugene At the end o f the ev enin g, if I’m not completely satisfied with the response I got, and I’ve just been ad-libbing this whole thing, then what do I do? Do I even kn ow what I want to change? No! See, I believe in audiotaping.

Jo hn Paying attention to how the audi ence responds is very important. When I st arte d to pu t togeth er an act, Handsome Jack was about as far away from what I was trying to Pete accomplish as could be. I thought 1 wanted to do a certain kind of As opposed to vid eota pin g? act, with this kind of magic, and Eugene this kind of character, and I was I’d like both, but the problem with heading off in this direction. And I would do my sh ow s, and certain vid eota pin g is I can get ca ught up in the pictures and miss the story. things would work, so I would add I want my show more of that. to be interesting Before I knew it I f all you're doing is even if all you I was heading East instead of telling theperson something heard was what I said. So when West, and at the they can see for themselves I add the visual end of the year why should they experience of I was H andsom e the magic, it’s Ja ck — the exact listen toyou? going to be re opposite of what ally good. But if I set out to be. If you’d told me at the start that it’s not interesting on a verbal lev I was g oin g to be the male m ode l el to begin with, there’s no base. magician, I would have said you There’s no solid foundation to the house. were in sane. Now, because I paid attention to what the audience Jo hn was tellin g me, I’ve im pro ved to the point where I perform regu Audio ta pe y o u rse lf perform in g, larly at the Castle, and I’m invited w heth er it’s a fo rm al show , or ju st a trick for your brother. Then tran  to perform at conventions. scribe the tape, and read it. And ask yo urs elf, if I was not doing any Pete David Regal said in Close-up and magic, and I was just saying this Personal that scripting lets you as a monologue, how worthy is this of putting in front of people? decide what response you hope to get, so you can see if you get it or The thing about art, whether it’s not. Having a goal shows you how fine art or performing art, you’re

,


trying to communicate an idea or tell a story. Ideally it’s an interest ing idea or compelling story. A lot of magicians are not really trying to communicate an idea or a story, they’re just presenting an effect. Scripting lets you add another ele ment, another layer, to the effect. It gives you something to com municate. It gives you a reason to be showing somebody the effect, above and beyond “look what I can do.” A script allows you to have a goal other than fooling a person, which is only so in te re stin g. Pete I want to go on to character. I wro te out a te rrib le questio n ab ou t character, so I’d like you to imag ine that I just asked a really good question about character, and just answ er that. Jo hn When I talk about ch arac ter, ev eryone says “Well, you perform as Handsome Jack. I just do tricks for my friends.” All the same rules apply, whether you’re performing as a character, or as yourself for friends. Consistency, naturalness, staying in character, they all ap ply. Even if you’re playing your self, you have to know what kind of person you are. You still have to choose tricks and a presentation style that fits you. Pete Eugene, you perform more or less as yourself. How do you infuse you r chara cter in to a scrip t— or does it happen automatically be cause it’s you doing the writing?


Eugene I’ve always thought that you have two choices: the potter or the sculptor. The potter works by building up, and the sculptor w orks by chip pin g aw ay. I’ve al w ays work ed on chara cte r d evel opment as a sculptor. What I’m trying to do is uncover the person that I already am, not to create a new person. Now, the person I al ready am I will amplify, and try to enhance some of my gifts, and de crease some of my deficits. Pete Jo hn, from your descrip tio n of the way you developed Handsome Ja ck, it so unds lik e you were more of a potter. Jo hn That’s true. A lot of the humor in my personal life was self depre cating. And that’s the direction I started when I set out to create an act, beca use that’s who I am. H and some Jack is the exact opposite of that. It doesn’t feel so much like a deep part of me was revealed, it feels like something was created. It was a very surprising process. Pete Okay, process. In the real world, do you sit down and write out a script, then rehearse it, or do you improvise first, then write it down, or... Eugene First of all, I believe all good writ ing is rewriting. That’s my prem ise. So, the first thing I want to do is get something down on paper.

Pete And then I want to go away fo r a So John, your process? few days, and leave it alone, and then come back to it, with maybe Jo hn fresh eyes. After I come back to It, I try tell the same story with as The point at which I sit down and few words as possible. I’m really actually write it out varies. Some into economy of words. Because times when I get an idea it’s a fullthat gives you time for pauses. formed idea and it seems to write And som eti m es the mag ic hap itself. But if it’s just a vague idea, pens in the pauses. I wrote an ar and I don’t know enough about it ticle on my website called “Editing to write it down I’ll go through it in Scripts.” In this article, there are my living room, and basically im two scripts for the Bob Neale trick pro vise it. And after going through 13 at Dinner”; an earlier draft it a few times, I have a better idea and a later one. And if you look w hat’s goin g on, an d then I’ll sit down and write the script. at them side-by-side, you could see the air that was taken out. Eugene I’m really committed to economy of words. And I think that’s really And som eti m es you don’t write it a reaction to the kind of magic I out, do you? I was just thinking of the Voodoo Poker routine I do in see so often, which is just these the show with Max and Tina. I’ve people talking too much. never written that script out, and If you were to say to me, how can yet it is ab solu tely word fo r word the average magician improve every show. Now the first time I did it, I had a name for the doll, their work, well, real simple: don’t and it just went in all these differ talk so much, and slow down. ent directions. And it was getting laughs, but one of my primary in Pete I think a lot of peop le sp eed up b e tuitions is that not all laughs are cause they’re nervous, and they’re good laughs. nervous because they don’t know Jo hn wha t th ey’re do in g, esp ecially if they’re making up what they say That’s true. An audience can laugh throughout an entire show, and as they go. still be very unsatisfied. Jo hn Eugene And th ey’ve se en the trick befo re, and forget the audience hasn’t. To Exactly. And so I just pulled back. the audience it’s all new. It takes I didn’t give the doll a name; it time to process all the informa w asn ’t goin g anyw here, it was ju st tion—to look at something, see a stupid cheap laugh. It wasn’t what it is, se e the mag ic effect, moving the game along, I’m trying to get to that Amsterdam joke. If then react to it. you ge t to perfo rm a lot, the a c


tual writing it down isn’t quite as crucial, because you’re doing it every night, so you can tweak it that way. Particularly because my scripts tend not to be very long. If I have these endless amounts of word s, where do I ju m p in? Pete What attracted you to the G ypsy Thread?

Pete Those are the best ones. Eugene “The Human Thread,” which I did in the show with Max and Tina, is ba sed on a scrip t t h at Max and I wro te fo r the Shakespeare show. But most of the time I don’t do either of those. The version I per form the most is silent. Because at the average corporate party Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva don’t quite work, any more than aban donment and all these existential things.

Eugene I saw it when I was about 16 years old, Fred Kaps gave a lecture in Chicago. It called to me. The origi nal presentation was about Vam pires. And the thread was broken Pete by biting it. Magicians would say to Pleasure and pain, happiness and me, “How do you bite that thread?” sorrow, intense love and tragic And I w ou ld — not gettin g it— ju st separation... say “I bite it.” And then I had all this dental work done, and I didn’t Eugene have that place in my mouth any Right. So the version I perform the more where I bit the thread. So I most goes like this: “You know, stopped doing the trick for a year. one of the things people say to And in th ose me is that I talk days I was also a great deal. The less tr iv ia l I can be, doing “Dracula And so my final and the Soror the more zeroes I can add piece of magic ity Girls,” and is done with to my paycheck. so “Vampire-like out any words. teeth” was a Well, there are a callback to this earlier effect. And few words. This is yellow cotton then one day, I was thinking: this thread. And this effect is dedicat is one of my favorite tricks, and ed to the pyromaniac deep within I haven’t done it for a year. And each of us. And I should tell you, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva just it is an example of pure sleight of ju m ped in. But th ey did n’t ju m p hand.” Now, whatever that means, in out of nowhere. They jumped who know s. But th at’s the ele va in after 15 ye ars o f studying Asian tion of it. And then I just perform philosophy. But once they were in, the trick silently. the script wrote itself. Jo hn It creates interest right at the top.

Eugene So there is a script, leading into it, but the effect is performed si lently. Pete So John, what drew you into the trick? Jo hn It's a trick I’ve always liked. And It never occurred to me to per form it, because I didn’t know what H an ds om e Ja ck would do with it. And then fo r so me re aso n I thou ght of the ph rase “She lo ve s me, she loves me... a lot.” Instead of she loves me not. Because to Handsome Jack, “she loves me not” jus t doe sn’t ex ist— how could any woman not love Handsome Ja ck ? And I th ough t to m yself, that’s funny. That’s good comedy. I had heard ab out doing the Gy ps y Thread with dental floss. And I liked the convenience of that, all in a single self-contained package, and I liked the everyday-object as pect of it. So I worked up a presen tation, where every time I’d break the thread, I’d say “She loves me, she loves me a lot.” I did it for an audience, and it turns out, “She loves me, she loves me a lot,” in deed... is no t funny. And that was the entire basis of the routine. Pete and Eugene laugh.

Jo hn So it was back to the drawing board. When I tried to fix it, I came up with a more elaborate version, which had a serie s of jo ke s in the same style, which pla ys quite well,

and the rest of it fell in place. And this raises an important point. If a joke isn’t funny, cut it! If you’ve tried it three times and haven’t gotten a laugh, take it out of the act. Pete Eugene, what lead you to create a new presentation when Cosmic Thread was so successful? Eugene A mag ic tr ick is like an opportu  nity. And you can take a simple magic trick and raise different emotions. I don’t think you have to giv e magic meaning, because I think magic is alread y m eaningful. What you have to do som etim es is get out of the way, so people can get the meaning. Pete So you don ’t ob scure it with a bla n ket of words that have no mean ing of their own, and prevent the meaning of the trick from coming through. Jo hn Some people think scripting just means elaborate story concept presentations. But scripting can be finding a few lines to drape around an effec t— not to narrate it, but to make it echo in your au dience’s mind, so they’re ready for the magic, and they experience it fully, and they remember it. Pete Jo hn, ho w did you end up w rit  ing a Gypsy Thread script for a

play that was written by someone else?

Jo hn The show is a musical about the invention of cinema in the 1890 s. I was playing the ghost of RobertHoudin, and every once in a while I would do a bit of magic related to the themes of the show, which wer e im m ortality, de ath, time, hu man achievement, invention, and art. The writers outlined in the play that Robert-Houdin would do a trick about loss here, one about time there, etc. It was my jo b to co me up with tric ks that fit. I plotted them all out, except I didn’t have anything in my rep ertoire that I thought would work for time. I looked at all these tricks with clocks, and watches, and hourglasses, and time travel, and then I thought of the Gypsy Thread, and I thought there might be a way to make it about time through the script. I thought about how some people view time as a continuous unbroken stream, and some people think of time as bro ken down into smaller pieces, and that became the contrast between the unbroken and broken thread. So this is one example where I had the idea for the script first. Usu ally the trick comes first. Pete Last question: If you could give one piece of advice to a magician getting starting in scripting their magic, what would it be?


Eugene

If yo u ’re ju st starting out, don ’t bite off more than you can chew. If you have a trick that’s mostly just ex po sition , start with that. Clean that up. So that you ’re not end lessly re peating yourself. Take your favor ite card trick, and then ask your self, line by line, is this he lping the trick, or am I just jumping up and down, not going anywhere? Writing sc rip ts is n ’t about co ming up with fantastic story scripts; it’s about im proving what you already do, and making it better magic for people, a better performance. Be cause this is a performance, and that’s theater, and very few people have the ability to ad-lib it. If you go and watch Lance Burton or Penn & Teller or Siegfried & Roy, these shows are absolutely scripted. You watc h Lance’s sh ow an d you think this is really spontaneous. But I’ve seen it a dozen times, and there are very few unscripted moments. These are scripted shows because these are shows, for god’s sake. And a sh ow is about a sc ript. Jo hn There was a discussion on the Internet recently about scripting magic, and someone said, “I don’t use a script because it interferes with m y sp onta neity.” Well, noth ing could be further from the truth. If you watch a great actor, all their work is truly spontane ous—and most actors have never performed a single word, ever, that wasn’t scripted. By definition good acting is spontaneous. The great luxury about doing a magic

trick— as opposed to a play— is that you can go off script if you want to. So the no tion that usi ng a script is limiting or confining is absolutely untrue. Eugene The other half of that advice is this: don’t let failure discourage yo u. Je ff McBrid e an d I recen tly did a program for a group of teenag ers, and afterward we asked them, "What did you learn here that you can take home and apply to your magic?” And the number one an swer was, “Give yourself permis sion to fail.”

wh at to say, an d so th ey ju st d e scribe what they’re doing. Pete It’s like when someone is giving a PowerPoint presentation, and they put up a slide with text, and then they read the text off the slide. Well, you ca n read to y o u rse lf much faster than the person can read out loud. So you tune them out.

Jo hn Exactly. If all you’re doing is tell ing the person something they can see for themselves, why should they listen to you? As Eugene said, when we ta lk about scrip ts , w e’re Jo hn not just talking about some really If I could only give somebody one piece of advice, it would be to re interesting premise, some off-theduce the amount of procedural wall co ncept, or so m e poetic story . Ju st thin k of it as patter in your a way to im prove show. Take it Writing scripts isnt the tricks you al as close to zero ready do, in the percent as you about coming up with style you already can. By proce fantastic story scripts; use. That’s all. It dural patter, I it's about improving can be just a few mean the things lines, so that ev that describe what you already do. erything you’re what y o u ’re do saying is serving ing. “Here I have three coins. One, two, three.” Or a purpose, and contributing to the trick. Because if it doesn’t contrib “Here I have a rope, I’m going to ute, it subtracts. And so, even if cut it in two.” Now, there are times when you have to do th at— when your scri pt ends up bein g only you need to em phasiz e a cert ain four sentences, each one of them condition, or a certain number of helps the magic. props, you have to do that occa Eugene sionally. But as a general rule, a lot of that is bad, and there are some What Jo hn ju s t said is very im por shows where 90 % of what the tant. One of the most important person says is procedural. That’s principles is economy. If you just mostly because they haven’t spread a deck of cards and move toward a person, they take a card scripted it, and they don’t know


withou t you sa yin g anything. Any thing at all! But I don’t want to be “Hi take a card just grab one just grab any one just take a card!” That’s trivializing what I’m doing, and in the process it’s trivializing me. And the less trivial I can be, the more zeroes I can add to my paycheck. So there is a bottom line, after all.

References Eugene's essay, “Editing Scripts,” is at www .magicbeard.com.

My main goal is tofascinate the audience into thinking that they are dreaming, even i f this is onlyfor afew seconds.

Juan Tamariz


Gypsy Thread

O

ne sure way to tell when a trick strikes at something fundamen tal is to look at the variety of different presentations that have been developed for it. The Gypsy Thread is one of the true clas sics o f magic. It can be perform ed for any audience in the world,

and— if done w ell— will draw a powerful reaction. When I'm teaching English, I often have students w ho have never analyzed a poem and haven’t read or heard a poem since they began to read for them selves. If I just give them a poem and ask them to analyze it, they don’t know where to begin. But if I give them two poems and ask them to compare them, that they can do. It’s easier for the m ind to compare two things than to analyze one. The same is true with scripts. It’s revealing to see the different choices two different magicians make for the same trick. Here you have a unique treat— four different scripts for the Gypsy Thread, two each by Eugene and John. They cover a fair range of both style and sub stance, from sublime to eternal, history to comedy. When you read these scripts, notice how little narrative there is. Only the last one, really, and that’s only because it’s structured as a demonstration. Each of these scripts has only the words that add to the effect.


Cosmic Thread by Eugene Burger Int— Theater—Evening A single small candle, in a simple brass holder, on a beautiful wooden box. Next to it, a spool of yellow cotton thread. Eugene lights a match, and lights the candle. He blows out the match and picks up the spool. Eugene Yellow cotton thread. Eugene begins un spoolin g a length of thread. Eugene A single length, which will represent the entire universe. Pause. Eugene In the stories of ancient India, it is the God Brahma who creates the universe and all that there is. Brahma then retires... Eugene breaks off the length of thread. Eugene ...and the God Vishnu takes over. And Vishnu sustains and preserves the universe in every mo me nt of its existence. Eugene stretches the thread between his widespread hands. Eugene And then, at the end of time, the God Shiva app ears. .. Eugene holds the end of the thread over the flame, which burns through it, separating off a short piece from the whole.


Eugene ...and dances the Tandava dance... Again he burns a short piece off of the main thread. Eugene ...a weird and terrible dance of fire... Another piece is burned from the whole. Eugene ...in which the entire material universe is destroyed... The last piece is burned in half, leaving the entire thread in pieces in his hands. Eugene ...in blinding light brighter than 10,000 suns. Eugene draws away one piece and begins to slowly roll the others into a ball. Eugene And the universe is no more. There is only silence—vast cosmic sleep. Eugene holds up the small ball of cut pieces of thread. Eugene And out of this cosmic sleep, Brahma wakens himself again. Eugene presses the ball onto the remaining single strand of thread, where it sticks, hanging from the middle. Eugene He looks about, and seeing nothing— nothing lovely or beautiful, he decides to create the universe once more. Eugene takes both ends of the single strand and slowly begins to pull them apart. The ball begins to dance and bounce as the string draws out longer and longer.


Eugene And creating it, he retires, pleased with his eternal play. Eugene holds his hands out wide, showing the fully restored thread.

The End


Notes on Cosmic Thread If you think about it, this is really a history lesson. I f my teachers had taught like this, I’d probably remember a lot more history. Note the pause at the beginning. It separates the trick that follows from the preparatory action of removing and displaying the spool of thread. It’s very important. Many tricks depend on some secret action that is done before the spectators realize the trick has started. The Gypsy Thread isn’t particularly one of them, but I didn’t want to miss this point, which is that the pause makes this technique even more impenetrable. To the audience, everything that happened before the pause is separate from the trick. In this case, the pause serves to intensity the audience’s attention on Eugene, and what he’s about to say. The reason it works so well is that Eugene has just announced the intriguing fact that the thread will represent the entire universe. This line, coupled with the pause, tells the audience that what they are going to see is different from the usual magic trick, whatever that m ight be.

Method Eugene’s book (see below) has his handling. Many other books have han dlings. They all work. Pick the simplest.

Adaptation Obviously, you don’t want to do this exact presentation, because it is so strongly identified with Eugene. T his story works for Eu gene because it means something to him; pick one that means something to you. Pick a story you re ally like, and tell it as concisely and elegantly as you can while you’re doing the trick. I’m pretty sure that’s what Eugene did.

References This presentation also appears in Eugene’s book The Experience of Magic, Kaufman and Greenberg, 1989. Eugene’s handling appears in Spirit Theater, Kaufman and Greenberg, 198 6.


Human Thread by Eugene Burger Int— Theater—Evening A single small candle, in a simple brass holder, on a beautiful wooden box. Next to it, a spool of cotton thread. Eugene strikes a match, and lights the candle. He blows out the match and picks up the spool. Eugene Sometimes things that seem simple aren’t so simple after all. Eugene holds up the spool. Eugene A simple spool of thread. Eugene begins unwinding the thread. Eugene A single strand. Like our lives, there’s a beginnin g and an end. Eugene breaks off the length of thread. Eugene And in the middle, there is happiness, but also sorrow. Eugene burns a short piece off of the main thread. Eugene There is pleasure, but also pain. Another short piece is burned off the main thread. Eugene There are moments of intense love, and times o f tragic separation. Another short piece is burned off.


Eugene Betrayal. Another piece is burned off. Eugene Abandonment. The final piece is burned off. Eugene When the bonds between us seem broken forever. Eugene slowly rolls the threads into a ball. Eugene We hope that’s not so. We want something more. Eugene presses the ball onto the remaining single strand of thread, where it sticks, hanging from the middle. Eugene The human dream, the universal dream, is a dream of magic—and transformation. Eugene slowly pulls the ends of the single strand apart, until he is finally holding the entire string, fully restored.

The End


Notes on The Human Thread The Human Thread grew out of a version written by Eugene, Max Maven, and Peter Howard for a show at the Shakespeare Festival of Los Angeles.

References This presentation, along with Eugene's complete handling, is taught on vol ume three of Eugene Burger's Magical Voyages video series, L&L Publishing.


Forming an Eternity by John Lovick Int — Theater—Evening The Ghost of Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin appears. He steps to a table on which sits a lit candle and a spool of thread. Robert-Houdin Time is man- made. Th at ’s all, ju s t “Time is man-made.” He picks up the spool. Robert-Houdin Some people view time as flowing continuously in an endless stream... He unspools a length of thread. Robert-Houdin ...and some perceive it to be made of distinct parts. Centuries... He burns off a piece of thread. Robert-Houdin ...decades... Another piece is burned off. Robert-Houdin ...years... And another. Robert-Houdin ...months... And another. Robert-Houdin ...weeks...


And another. Robert-Houdin ...days... And another. Robert-Houdin ...hours... And another. Robert-Houdin ...minutes... And another. Robert-Houdin ...and seconds. The final piece is burned off. Robert-Houdin picks up the pieces and begins rolling them into a ball. Robert-Houdin Millions of moments... He sticks the ball onto the single piece of thread, then slowly draws the restored thread out. Robert-Houdin ...forming an eternity.

Fade Out


Notes on Forming an Eternity John wrote this for the Los Angeles premiere o f the play Laura Comstock's Hay, Punching Dog. John originated the role of the Ghost of Jean Eugene Rob-

ert-Houdin and created several magical sections, including this script. By the

way, John asked Eugene for perm ission to use the presentational device o f burning the thread in the flame of a candle. This is the only script in the book that ends with a fade out.

References Laura Comstock's Bag-Punching Dog , written by Jillian Armenante and Alice

Dodd, premiered in Los Angeles in July, 2003.


The Handsome Jack Lovemeter by John Lovick Int—Night Club—Evening Handsome Jack smiles at the audience. HANDSOME JACK I’ve got something here that can help each and everyone of you with your love lives. It’s the lat es t offering from th e Ha ndso me Jack Institute. The Handsome Jack Institute is dedicated to making you... a pale im itation of me. Jack holds up a small packet of dental floss. HANDSOME JACK What I have here that can help you with your love life is: Dental floss. No, I’m not talking about oral hygiene here, I’m talking about something I call “The Han dso me Jack Loveme ter,” an d he re’s how it works. If you are at all like me, you are young and single and you loves to mingle. You find yourself at a lot of parti es thinki ng, “I wonder if th is chick digs me ?” Up until n ow you r only op tion was to write her a note that said “Do you like me? Yes or no? Check one.” Well, now with the Handsome Jack Lovemeter, you can find out scientifically, and here is how it works. Jack pulls out a length of floss and cuts it off with the built-in cutter. HANDSOME JACK Take a length of dental floss and as you break it in to small pie ces you say, “She loves me... Jack cu ts off a piece of thread.


HANDSOME JACK

...she loves me a lot... A n o th e r cut.

HANDSOME JACK ...she loves me... Another cut. HANDSOME JACK ...she just wants me for my body... Another cut. HANDSOME JACK ...she loves me... Another cut. HANDSOME JACK ...she used to be a man... Another cut. HANDSOME JACK ...she loves me a lot... Another cut. HANDSOME JACK ...her husband does not. John st o p s —th ere’s nothing left to cut. HANDSOME JACK Oh well, you win some, you lose some. When this happens, and I get an answer I’m less than entirely satisfied with, I take all the little pieces and roll them into a ball. Jack rolls the cut up pieces into a ball, then sticks the ball to the single piece.

HANDSOME JACK I wander around the party, act natural, no one notices. If I see a wom an who cat che s my eye, I ju st ru n th e te st again. And I can run the test again, because I’m not ju s t the president of the Handsome Jack Institute... Jack pulls out the flos s—it’s resto red. HANDSOME JACK ...I’m also a client.

The End


Notes on The Handsome Jack Lovemeter This is the version of the Gypsy Thread that John performs in his standup act as Handsome Jack, a part which has garnered him a nomination for Magi cian o f the Year every year he has performed it. I f you’ve never seen a picture o f John, some o f the comedy o f him as a male mod el may be lost on you.

References Lonnie Chevrie o f Texas cam e up with the remarkably practical dental floss version o f the Gypsy Thread, w hich is detailed as “ String ’em Up” on the DVD Wanted!: The Outlaw Magic o f Lonnie Chevrie, Volume 1.

Developing Character: How do you do that?

T

he following question was asked in one of the online magic fo rums recently. I can't remember which one, but it doesn't matter; the same question comes up regularly in all the beginner-oriented forums:

Does anybody have any good one-liners for when someone asks, “How did you do that?”

The standard responses come up just as often. You can say “Very well, thank you.” Or you can ask “Can you keep a secret?” and when the spectator says “Yes,” you say, “So can I.” These are both terrible answers, but who cares what I think? I’m not a pro fessional magician. But I am a professional writer. And I can tell you this: if I were writin g a script an d one o f the characters was a magician, and I wanted the audience to immediately dislike this character, this is what I would write:

Spectator How did you do that? Magician 1 Very well, th an k you. This is what I would write to make the character twice as unlikable:

Spectator How did you do that? Magician 2 Can you keep a secret? Spectator Yes. Magician 2 So can I. I wouldn't have to include any further notes about the character. The actor, the director, the guy workin g craft services— they'll all know the magician is a pompous ass. If I really wanted to make the magician out to be a bad guy,


I'd have him take the spectator aside, as if to whisper in secret, then say “So can I” in an extra loud voice for other people to hear. The only thing I could do to make a magician seem less likable than that is to have him mistreat his animals. Seriously, I could write:

Spectator How did you do that? Magician 3 F_ck you! (Storms off) Magician 3 would be more sympathetic than either o f the first two. Because at least he’s dedicated. The audience might think he’s some kind of tortured artist, and they might want to see him redeemed. But the first two aren ’t inter estin g— they’re just jerks. When you perform, what you say is your script. Whether you write it out in advance, make it up as you go, or pull from your bank of one-liners, what you say and do is your script. And as any scriptwriter knows, your character is revealed by what you say and do. When you think o f what you say as a script, you immediately realize how terrible all these “one-liners” are. The best way to deal with a question like “ How did you do that?” is to take some time no w — before the question is ask ed— and script an an swer that will reveal your character the way you want the audience to see it. Here are a few possibilities to get you started:

"I practice a lot." This deceptively simple answer has a lot going on under the surface. It im mediately makes you more human and sympathetic, and keeps the spectators from thinking they could do the trick if they only knew the “secret.” And it subtly reminds the audience how hard you work for their entertainment.

"Did you like it?" When the spectator says “Y es,” you can say, “ Let me show you another one.” If you don’t have another trick to show them, just say “Thank you” instead of “Let me show you another one.” Either way this answer is good because it in directly acknowledges the question as a com plime nt (which it is). These answers are both good, but they don’t really have that much character in them. These next few respo nses are character specific, so they won’t be ap-

propriate for everyone. But they do show how you can infuse your character

into every aspect o f your act.

"My grandfather taught me that trick when I was ten years o l d . " This creates a priceless connection between you and the audience. You can follow this by talking about your grandfather, and the way you talk about your grandfather will tell your audience a great deal about you. If you like, you can follow this up with "Here, let me show you the trick my grand mother taught me.” I guarantee this will intrigue the audience.

"I know, I've been banned from every casino in Las Vegas." Another line that treats the question as a com pliment, this could work for a "Charming Cheat” character like Martin A. Nash. This line can be a little egotistical, but i f you deliver it with a hint o f sadness, the audience will almost feeling sorry for you.

"I practice all the time—my shrink says it's a good idea to keep my hands busy." If you're one o f those funny, slightly crazy people— someone like David Acer, sa y— you can get a good laugh with som ething like this. By the way, i f you’re not one of those funny, slightly crazy people, saying a line like this will not make you one. The best answ er I’ve ever heard was by the lovely Argentine m agician Alba. She carefully structured her routines so that every magical moment was pre sented as the spectator’s doing. At one point one of the assisting spectators asked, “How did you do that?” and she immediately replied, "You did it.” More important than any o f the lines you m ight read here or online or any where else is to think about what your answer to this question reveals about your character. Everything you say reveals som ething about your character. Everything. I still believe that the best way to deal with this question is to keep your spec tators from asking it. All you have to do is make what you did more interesting than how you did it. And the best way to do that, I believe, is to write a compel ling script for every trick you do.

An earlier version o f this essay appeared in Genii Magazine, October 2002.


T

his script is for a double-Card-to-Pocket trick called “Casual Travel ers,” which appeared in my One Man Parade in the May 2002 issue o f The Linking Ring. This is a great trick. I can say that because I claim very little credit for it. I only took three existing moves and

put them together. So as you read the script, don’t overlook the trick. In this script I introduce myself as the Magician Who Cares. This is played

tongue in cheek, mostly, but the part about me c aring — and by implication, other magicians not caring — is definitely based on reality. This script uses self-deprecating humor, which is not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like it, feel free to use any part of this routine. I don’t perform professionally, so you’re not taking anything away from me. But i f you don’t like this character, don’t dism iss the script. Instead, notice how ev erything— the comedy, the handling o f the trick, and even the magical clim ax— are all integrated into a single whole. That’s because everything is derived from the character. The more o f your character you integrate into your work, the more your work becomes a whole, where all the components rein force each other. I f you do a variety o f tricks with a variety of props in a variety of different moods, with a consistent, distinctive character, your act will seem like a consistent whole. But if you do similar tricks, with similar props and similar presentations, but your character changes every trick, the result will seem like an incoherent mess. If you perform tricks usin g the “patter” from the instructions, this is a lmost certainly what will happen. So, i f you want your act to be a consistent whole, you really have to let character drive everything. You can still choose which tricks to perform, but you can’t really do a trick until you know how your character would do it. Earlier in this book I mentioned that every trick you do has a script. Even if you make it up on the spot, it’s still the script for that perform ance o f the trick. The same is true of character. You may say that you don’t play a character, and you may be right. But you still have a character, and your audience will perceive, and interpret, and respond to your character. It’s incredibly easy for a few poorly chosen words to give the audience a completely wrong impression o f who you are. Conversely, it’s very easy for a few well-chosen words to com municate that character to the audience quickly, easily, and entertainingly. The results may astound you. In this script you perform for two spectators; Ricky is on your right, and Lee is on your left. This ensures maximum cover for one move.

I Care by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room — Evening Pete stands in front of his friends, Ricky and Lee. Pete The problem with most magicians is that they don’t care. For example, a magician will pull a quarter out of your ear. But do they let you keep it? No! It’s your ear, it should be your quarter. When I pull a quarter out of your ear, it’s yours. Pete reaches into Lee’s ear, and pulls out... nothing. Pete (to Lee) Sorry. (to both) I really want to convince you that I’m different from other magicians. And so I’m going to perform... a card trick. Pete brings out a deck of cards. Pete For this trick I need to have two cards selected, and I’ll tell you why: I’m not that good. Okay? I need at least two chances. What I’m saying is, if I find either of your cards, the trick is over. Pete shuffles, almost spilling the cards. Pete Still, I care—right? Remember that, if I botch this trick. Pete spreads the cards face down.


Pete

Most magicians, when they ask you to pick a car d, spread the cards face down. Do you know why? Ricky No. Pete Because they don’t care. Pete closes the spread. Pete (Cont.) They don’t care if you have a favorite card, or if you want to take a look at the cards, see which one looks good to you. They don’t care. Pete shakes his head sadly. Pete I care. Pete spreads the cards face up. Pete I spread the cards face up. Because I care about you, Randy, in a very personal way. Ricky Ricky. Pete Ricky. And... Pete waves at Lee. Pete (Cont.) ...the rest of you. Now Ricky, if you see any card you like, just say “Three of Clubs!” or “Nine o f Diamonds!” Whatever it is.


Ricky Seven of Spades. Pete Except, “Seven of Spades!” Ricky Seven of Spades! Pete That’s excellent. The Seven of Spades; here it is. Pete shows the Seven of Spades in the middle of the spread. Pete (Cont.) Favorite card, or just looked good? Ricky Just looked good. Pete Intuition—I like it. I’m going to leave it right where you found it. Because I care. Pete turns to Lee and resumes spreading. Pete Lee, I care about you, not like other magicians, blah blah blah... okay? Lee Okay. Pete holds the spread in front of Lee. Pete Sing it out. Lee Jack of Hearts! Pete The Jack of Hearts! Here it is.


Pete shows the Jack of Hearts around. Pete Now that is fair—you could ha ve picked any card. Lee nods. Pete closes up the deck and turns it face down. Pete Now, Ricky, I can’t control your mind, can I? Say no. Pete gives Ricky a look, as if exerting some mind control. Ricky No. Pete No! Lee, can I control your mind? Say no. Lee No. Pete See? I can’t control your mind. But I can control the cards. Pete riffles the deck with his thumb. Then he reaches into his pocket and brings out Lee’s Jack of Hearts. Pete Your Jack of Hearts. One out of two—the trick is over! Pete turns to Ricky. Pete (Cont.) Ricky, I’m, uh... Short pause. Pete I’m sorry I didn’t get your card. Long pause.

Pete But I’ll tell you what, I’ll do a different trick. Is that a quarter in your ear? Pete re ach es into Ricky’s ear. Again nothin g. Pete Nothing. All right— I care, so I guess I have to try. Pete turns his head aside in concentration, then holds up the deck and riffles it with a dramatic flourish. Then he shakes his head. Pete Thought I could get it without looking. Pete looks at the deck, and riffles one more time. That’s better. He takes the deck in his right hand, shows his left hand empty, and reaches into his left pants pocket and pulls out Ricky’s Seven of Spades. Pete Hey, I got em both! That just goes to show you: if you care... wait a minute. What’s this? Pete reache s into Ricky’s ear an d pulls ou t a quar ter. Pete Really. Pete reache s into Lee’s ear and pulls ou t an ot he r quarter. Pete I think these are yours. Pete gives Lee and Ricky the quarters.

The End


Notes on I Care I love doing this trick. The first card is very magical, and the second is abso lutely astounding. This trick, more than any other I know, repays the time you spend lea rning the sleights required. The co mbination o f the sleight-of-hand you use for the first phase, (when no one knows what to expect), and the easy subtlety of the load for the second phase cancel each other perfectly. I've done this trick for years without the bit about producing the quarters at the end, and still do if I don't have two quarters on me. I really like the way they put an exclamation point on the presentation, but they are optional for sure.

Method Basically, you control the two selections to the top, palm Lee’s card, and as you produce it from your right pants pocket, you load Ricky’s card from the deck straight into your left pocket. You can use any control or palm. I use the spread cull from a face-up deck, and Vernon’s Topping the Deck palm; these moves are not too hard, but they are not too easy. To cull two selections from a face up spread takes practice, but it’s not that bad. Topping the Deck will take some w ork— I practiced an hour a day for a month before I used it in public, and about three months before I could do it without thinking about it. But when that time is done, you have a deadly m iracle o f a classic trick, which you can do anytime, anywhere, with almost any deck. Honestly, the biggest drawback to this routine is that it’s hard to do while wearing a sportcoat. You have to kind o f sweep the jacket back so you can do the load of the second card, which is hard to do inconspicuously.

Setup Put a quarter in your left and right pants pockets. This is actually option al— i f you don’t have any quarters, just leave that part out.

Performance I always begin by sticking both hands in m y pockets, as i f looking for so me thing, which I can’t find, but no big deal. Then I do the trick. This opens the left pocket up, so the card can be loaded easily. Don’t forget this step! Do the intro, until you get to the point where Ricky has chosen a card. Cull Ricky’s card under the spread as you turn to Lee; this turn o f attention covers the cull thoroughly. As you say, “You could have picked any card,” spread a few more cards, and cull Lee’s under that cover. I acknowledge that culling two cards requires practice. But it’s not that hard.

I once wrote a long article about the advantages of having cards selected from a face-up spread and controlling them with a cull, of which I will only inflict a summary on you. • The selection is unquestionably free (so no need to sign the cards). • You don't have to worry Alex might forget the card or deliberately misname it to screw with you. • Alex doesn't have to worry about rem embering the card (very important). • The handling is entirely natural and appears completely moveless. • The audience will be completely convinced the selections are in the middle of the deck. • You create a “We’re on the sam e team ” atmosphere (priceless). I think these advantages are fairly well demonstrated by this routine. If the way you control selections does not have all these features, perhaps you might want to try the face-up spread cull. However you get the selections to the top, you’re going to palm the top card of the deck. In my experience, you can divide magicians into three groups: 1) those who use the one-handed top palm, 2) those who use Vernon’s Topping the Deck palm, and 3) everybody else. Virtually every good magician I know is in one of the first two groups. I use Topping the Deck. To me, the greatest benefit of this palm is that if I do it competently, it can not be seen — even i f the spectators are burning my hands. So when I’m doing the palm, of course I use misdirection to draw at tention elsewhere. (In this case I turn to Lee, to ask her if I can control her mind, which draws all attention to her.) But when it’s time to do the move, I just do it. I don’t have to wait until the spectators look away. I don’t even look to see if anyone is burning m e— I just turn to Lee and do the move. I f you haven’t experien ced this, I can’t tell you what a psychological boost it is not to worry about whether your misdirection is going to work. I f you don't think about it, the spectators will never sense it. With the card securely palmed, riffle the deck with your left. Now you're go ing to produce the card from your right pants pocket as you load Ricky's card from the top o f the deck into your left pocket. Start by reachin g into your right pocket to produce the palmed card. Begin to draw the card out slowly, and as you do, turn to the left, so Lee can see the card coming out o f your pocket. As this happens, the deck in your left hand enters the left pants pocket and you thumb off the top card. This is very easy, and extremely well covered by the misdirection of the card coming from the right pocket, and by the turn to the left, which is well motivated. While you're removing Lee's card, pull out your


pocket a little with it. S ho w Lee's card and retu rn it to the deck, then p ush your right pocket back in; this is when you finger-palm the quarter, on the off-beat.

Now, turn your head, so you're not looking at the deck, and riffle it with your thumb. Then shake your head, and deliver the line “Thought I could get it without looking.” If you underplay this completely, like a small con fession, it's a strong but subtle confirmation that the card hasn’t gone yet, which makes the climax unbelievably powerful. It works because it seems to be something you wouldn’t normally want to admit. But you have to do it in such a way that it looks like you don’t care i f anyone hears you or not. Regardless, casually show the left hand em pty — I like to hold it up for si lence, which serves the additional purpose o f heightening the tension. Reach into the left pocket, finger palm the quarter, then remove Ricky’s card. It comes out facing the audience, so go extra slow, since you don’t have the builtin drama of removing the card back out and then showing the face. At this point you have a quarter finger palm ed in each hand. Reach behind Ricky’s ear and produce one. Shuttle pass it into your left hand, then reach behind Lee’s ear and produce the other one. I f you really care, you’ll give them to your spectators.

Adaptation The “magician who cares” thing can be taken out of this trick and applied to any trick. Probably it would be better if you cam e up with your own identity, but you can do a lot worse than the magician who cares. Then take any trick in your repertoire and see how you would change every line, every moment, every step o f the plot— everything— to fit the new character. Even if you don’t end up using that character or that trick, everything you do after that will be better for the exercise.

References Topping the Deck is in Select Secrets by Dai Vernon, published in 1949 by Max Holden. The spread cull goes back to Hofzinser. It’s in Volume 1 of Card College, and a million other places besides.

Jonathan Levit: An Actor Playing the Part of a Magician

Un prestidigitateur n ' est point un jongleur, c' est un acteur jouant le rôle de magicien.

Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin hen I first saw Jonathan Levit's name on the bill at the Mag

w

ic Castle, I didn't really want to see him perform. Because, quite frankly, he's an ass. I saw him on The X-Files (the one

where Ricky Jay gets killed), and you could just tell what a

self-centered jerk he was. But David Regal told me Jonathan had a great show, so I went. Turns out he's the nicest, most humble guy you could ever want to meet. He's not an ass at all. What do you know, he's an actor. At one point in Jonathan's show, he's talking to a spectator, and doesn't notice that he accidentally shuffles half the deck face up into the other half face down. After the shuffle he cuts, revealing a face-up card, which stops him in his tracks. He cuts a few more times and discovers that there are a whole bunch of face-up cards mixed into the face-down deck. Then comes the moment of truth. He looks to the audience, and asks "What's going on?” And people helpfully tell him that he accidentally shuffled ha lf face up and h al f face down. He digests this information, then says he can fix that, snaps his fingers, and spreads the deck to show it is all face down. I know maybe twelve magicians who can actually pull this off. Jonathan actually has to get distracted by something the spectator says, every time, at the exact same point in the trick. It is not exactly easy to make the audience understand what happened, m uch less get them to believe it. Now, it is a cliche that audiences love to see the magician in trouble. Well, ma ybe— i f they don't like you. But i f the audience likes you, they don't like to see you in trouble. When Jonathan does this, people are not happy that he has screwed up. Because they like him. Despite the fact that, as anyone who watches The X-Files can tell you, he's obviously a self-centered jerk. Scripting your m agic brings many benefits you can't get any other way, but it requires its own work as well. The more you script your magic, the more you want to be able to perform a script. In other words, you have to be an actor playing the part of a magician. So I thought I'd ask Jonathan, who is in fact an actor, how he develops and integrates his acting skills into his magic. He generously and graciously agreed. He really is the nicest guy.


Pete

A lot o f m agic ia ns ta lk about what Robert-Houdin said as though it were a theoretical issue. But I think it’s the ultimate practical advice for magicians. Unless you actually have magical powers, you are only acting as though you do. If you want to be a better magi cian, you need to improve your acting skills. Jo nath an I agree with that. Pete Good. Because otherwise this in terview is over. Jo n ath an I’ve been on stage for most of my life. I’m used to performing. I’m used to being overt. And I came out here and started to study the ater and acting. And when I start ed, all my acting was very big. Pete Because on stage, it has to be. Jo n ath an It all came from my experience be ing on stage as a magician. Pete You were doin g magic firs t, befo re you becam e an acto r? Jo nath an I’ve been doing magic since I was 8. So that would be 26 years. I started off as a street performer at the age of 12 . And so everything w as big. I’m workin g fo r an au di

ence on the stre et— ever yth ing I do has to be big. Pete Even in the middle of the show, y o u ’re still try in g to bring more people in. Jo n ath an Exactly. So when I began to study acting, in Los Angeles, 8 or so years ago... Pete So, street performer for 14 years, from 12 to 2 6 , and you suddenly decided to become an actor. Jo nath an Right. I was working for Quark, liv ing in Denver, Colorado. And when anyone would ask me what I was going to do for a living, I would say “I’m going to be on a sitcom.” Of course. And after saying that enough times, I realized they don’t make sitcoms in Denver, Colorado. So I moved out to Los Angeles, and the first thing I did was start to study acting. So what happened to me was, everything was big. And when y o u ’re acting fo r tele vis io n or film, you need to bring every thing in, make it small. And that was counte r to what I knew for the past, at that point, 16 years. So I started to change the way I acted, whic h in turn changed the w ay I perform. Now, there’s a cohesion of those two. My performance still seems big, but it’s actually small er, and more controlled, and more focused. I’m more out there, and more extreme than I used to be,

but it’s more focused. So I’ve mar ried the two. Pete I wanted to talk to you about act ing techniques, because the first thing that happens when peo ple start to script their magic is they realize what Robert-Houdin meant—they need to be able to perform a script. And that takes skills and techniques that many magicians don’t study. You need to get better at the things an actor is good at. Jo nath an Abso lute ly. Pete So, what are the most important skills for an actor, and of those, which are the m ost im portant fo r a magician? Jo nath an Don’t ignore the bagel. Pete This is exactly the kind of sophis ticated acting technique I was hoping for when I set up this in terview. Jo nath an One of my acting teachers was in a show, and at one point there were three scenes going on at the same time on stage. And in one of the scenes there was a bagel, and the bagel accidentally got hurled into one of the other scenes. And the actors in that other scene jus t went about their business, as if there were no bagel. So the point is,


don’t ignore the bagel. One of the most important skills of an actor, and this absolutely carries over to magic or any other performing art, is: Don’t ignore what happens to you on stage. I have a script, and I follow the script. But I leave the script all the time to respond to the audience. You can’t be con fined to your script, to your show, to the routines, to the point that yo u ha ve no flexib ility. Beca use if you have no flexibility then it’s boring, for you and for the audi ence. But more for the audience. Because they can tell. So being relaxed, being real, and not ignor ing the ba gel— not ignoring w hat’s happening around you. And don’t ignore what happens in the audi ence. The close-up room at the Magic Castle holds 22 people. And every show, I walk out between those curtains and I have no idea, usually, who’s in the audience. No idea who’s sitting at my table. No idea who’s sitting in front of me. And that means every sh ow ha s the potential of being drastically different. And as it turns out, ev ery show is drastically different. Pete Most of the time, unless it’s one of the five best magicians in the wor ld or so m eone who may die soon, if I’ve seen a magician three or four times, I’m probably going to skip the show. But I see you ev ery time you work, because I know I’m going to see something that’s different and fresh every time. There are very few performers who fall into that category .

Jo nath an And that com es from bein g real, and being relaxed, and not ignor ing what’s going on in the room. If you ’re real... man y m agic ia ns fall into the trap of being “a magician,” saying stock lines. So it’s impor tant to know who you are, and to know your character. And be real, which kind of contradic ts “know your characte r,” so let’s ta lk ab out that first. My character is an exag gerated form of me. It’s the guy I wan t to be most of the time. Your character might be somebody to tally different—John Lovick is Handsome Jack. Everybody has a different character.

The Amazing Jonathan—not me, the other o n e— is a character. He has moments with his assistant that are very real, and very under stated. And it’s a real moment that happens every single night. Pete At 9:23 exactly.

Jo nathan Right. And that was a problem for me, which did not get cured until I started studying acting. I was just a wild guy on stage, with no focus and no un derstan ding of who I was. So I could make people laugh, but it wasn’t a refined character. And the audience knows that—they know when they’re watching a Pete performer who’s at one level, and There was a great Vernon Touch article from an old Genii , and it a performer who’s at a higher lev el, and one of was a li st of fifty the differences different char You have to commit is the character. acter identifica Are we w atchin g tions for magi even to thefaults a piece of the cians. Like “Mr. of the character ater? Or are we Electric” for Marand not be afraid. watchin g ju st a vyn Roy. Every guy who’s goofy one had a char The audience and does magic acter so distinct wi ll appreciate it. tricks? Teller is that with two or a perfect exam three words you ple. You totally accept this guy could sum up that character. who d oesn ’t sp ea k. And you are brought into his world. So when I Jo nathan started acting, I became more fo And they’re on stage. Rem em ber cused, more refined, and my char as a magician, you’re on stage acting as a magician. And Robert- acter started to evolve. And what I found out was that it really was Houdin’s quote is all important. me, but an extension of me—the Because you’re an actor, with a guy I wanted to be. Outgoing, con character, who does cool stuff. And yo u ’re tryin g to entertain , fident. I could act like I was all the things I wanted to be. So if you can and ideally fool, an audience. But figure out who you want to play, ultimately you are a character.

and if you can commit... you have to commit. Pete And befo re you can co mmit, you have to have som ething to comm it to. Jo nath an You’ve got to co mm it to what y ou ’re doin g. You can’t be tenta  tive. You have to commit to the character and the script. And be that guy. Pete Do you find it easier to play a ver sion of yourself, or a character that’s different? Maybe it’s not as nerve-racking if you’re playing someone else.

into his world, and we accept his faults. You have to commit even to the faults of the character and not be afraid. The audience will appre ciate it. Pete If everything he does comes from his character, then it’s like it’s not even his fault. I can even be sym pathetic, because I know it’s just his nat ure — he can ’t help it. Jo nath an If you commit to it, the audience will at le ast fe el th ey’re se ein g something real. Even if they don’t believe the character is really you, they still experience it as though it were real.

Pete Jo nath an So how do you commit? I think Act ors lo ve to pla y som ebody one of the reasons a lot of magi else. Because it allows us to be cians don’t use acting techniques more free—we don’t have to face is that a lot of acting technique sounds too the ourselves. And as a magician, I oretical—it’s not think the same immediately ob I f you don't thing holds vio u s wha t you script your show, true. I prefer to do in the real it's hard to go be an extension w orld. of myself. But much beyond Jo nath an if you can to making each trick tally commit to That’s really stronger than the last. a character, you hard to answer. can do it either It’s almost an in way. Fit zgera ld , nate thing. But, that’s Gary O’Brien’s stage name, if you’re free, if you can be stand is a good example. He commits ing in front of a group of strang to his character, and sometimes ers and be free, and not ignore the character is so goofy, we don’t the bagel, not ignore what’s go ing on around you... We’re very think we would like the character. But because he commits to the constricted people. We’re closed character so fully, we are brought off. We’re afraid, either to offend


somebody else, or to expose our selves. And as magicians and per formers, you’re on stage for the sole purpose of exposing your self. And if you’re willing to ex pose yourself completely, then it becomes much easier to commit. Now you sit down and say, “Who is my character?” My character may be a smarmy guy, maybe he’s a bumbling fool. And he doesn’t get anything right, and he drops things, and he’s not comfortable with anyth in g. And everythin g be comes part of that. You sit down and ask yourself what difficulties you w ould have. And everythin g thing you do in the act can reflect your ch aracter. Pete So one way to improve your level of commitment is to take every moment of your show and figure out how your character would deal with it. Because that’s one of the aspects of commitment; not that you leap into everything in extremis, but that you apply your character to every detail of every aspect of the show. Jo nath an Commitment is not just being over the top. Commitment is com mitting to the character. It’s being w illing to put in the time to think of every aspect of the show. How would my chara cter dea l with that situation? How is my character go ing to have a card selected? How is he going to find it? How is he going to bring the deck out of his pocket to start the show? How’s he going to open the pack and take out the

cards? All those little details you can put in— that’s comm itment. You se e m agic ians who go in and out of the cha racter— they ’re a certain character one moment, and then in between tricks they are different. Pete My favorite moment from the sit com Taxi is an episode that has a flashback to when Jim Ignatowski, the drugged-out reverend, was in college. And in the flashback he’s completely different—he’s an ut ter bookworm, uptight, anti-druggie type. But he also looks differ ent, in a way you can’t quite put your finger on. His gir lfrie nd keeps telling him to lighten up, and she tries to get him to eat a pot brown ie. And just to please her, he takes a bite, and then he says “Now can we ple ase go stu dy?” And then, a moment passes over him, and his face changes from Christopher Lloyd to Reverend Jim. His cheeks sink, his jowls move down, the eyes go dim. And then it’s over, his face goes back. And—first of all, it’s hilarious. But if you think about it, you realize that when he plays Reverend Jim, he’s holding his face that way. For 75 episodes, every single second he was on camera, he held his face that way. That’s commitment. Jo nath an It’s brilliant. Physicality is very important. Who is this charac ter? How does he walk? How does he behave? How does he handle his props? How does he handle the people that he deals with on

stage? How does he handle his w ords? That’s his ch ara ct er. Those things all make up your character. And so you have to unders tand your characte r an d be to ta lly com  mitted to every part of the show for that character. Pete You have to be w illing to go through every moment of he show and say “How would my character do that?” Jo nath an And that’s much ea sie r to do if you have a script. Because you know what all the m om ents are. If y o u ’re improvising, and you don’t know w hat’s goin g to happen, you have to figure out how your character will re sp ond to everythin g righ t there on the spot. If you have a script, you can go through, point by point, before you get up there. An d cre ate the character you wan t, as it is revealed by the script. Pete I’ve seen some magicians who, if they don’t plan their character in advance, the character that comes out spontaneously is not always the best possible choice. Jo nath an Character is so important. Pete This is another thing that people say is important. And it is, but how do you really start develop ing a character? Where does it come from, in practical terms?


Jo nath an It comes from scripting how your character behaves, how your character interacts with the au dience, with your props, your physicality, and with your words. A bum bling id iot w ould n’t ta lk in an upper class way. He might try to, but he’d bumble it. So the two have to match, otherwise your chara cte r is unbelievable . An d the audie nce w ants to be lieve—they want to be taken into somebody’s world. That’s what they want. But if they’re ju st w atch ing a guy throwing out some cool tricks, that’s not going to do it. Pete That’s not a world they want to be taken into. Jo nath an You se e a m agician th at does trick after trick after trick, and they’re never more than a magician that does trick after trick after trick. You co uld pu t any fa ce on the body, and it would be the same show. But you see someone who is a character, and it takes it to a new level. Pete I know some magicians who fear that once they learn the script, they’ll be less able to respond to things that come up. That if the bagel comes by, you’re less able to respond to it. Jo nath an You’re more able. When you know your sc rip t well enough that you

can come back to it, then you can go off on an y tangent you wan t, and still get back to the big finish. But if you don’t have a script, you’re much more afraid to diverge, to be real, to respond to the bagel, because you might not be able to pick up the trail again. You have to start from a base. If you don’t, you won’t know the th ro ugh-lin e o f the show. A show that has a throughline, a show that has an arc, is much more entertaining than one that doesn’t. And the only way to get a through-line, an arc, is to have a script. Pete You’re not ju st talk in g about h av ing a build, where each trick gets stronger than the last.

them to relax. If they’re sustained at a constant level, whether it be low or high, then they’ll get bored. But if they have a moment to re lax, and a moment to get excited, then both moments will be stron ger. And also, you’ll have more op portunity to deceive them. Pete It’s a lot easier to get away with something during those low mo ments. Jo nath an That’s right. Magic happens on the off beat. So to have an off beat, your show fi rs t has to have a beat. I saw a magician this evening, and the audience was rough. They w eren’t giv in g him much. But be cause he had his script, he knew he could bring the show to a suc cessful conclusion.

Jo nath an That’s correct. You do want each trick to build, but it’s not the same Pete as a through-line. Building is the first thing you do when you’re put So in addition to allowing you to respond to what the audience ting a show together. And, if you gives you, a script also allows you don’t script your show, it’s hard to deal when the to go much be audience isn’t yond m akin g Magic happens giving you any each trick stron thing. ger than the last. on the offbeat. An arc is the So to have an offbeat Jonath an evolution of the your showfi rst The script is character in the has to have a beat. like a security show. Now the blanket. With a show itself may script you know get heightened, and more dramatic, but it’s also an you can alw ays do an en te rtain  evolution w ith ups and down s, and ing show. Because you never know peaks and valleys. We want to get what the audie nce is goin g to giv e the audience excited, and we want you. If you rely sole ly on the au d i ence, you can get into trouble. But them to relax, and we want them to get excited again, and we want if you have that script, and you’re

,

comfortable enough with your she was just starting to cross over character, you can go outside the that line where she was gonna be script, and interact with the audi a problem—you had to do some ence. And that’s when it’s more thing. And you just looked at her fun. That’s why I try to make my and said, “You’re so drunk!” And show different every single time. it was a great moment, because it You wan t to be aware, an d sen si w as as honest as you co uld p o s tive, and obser sibly be. The vant of w hat’s audience broke Anything that you doy happening in the up completely, audience. If you and it totally i f you make it real, pretend there’s brought her back it's more interesting. a wall between to your side. She yo u an d the au  laug he d — you dience, then it’s boring. Unless didn’t say it meanly or any yo u’re on a sta ge, and yo u ’re p re thing—and it was just enough senting a piece of theater in that that she didn’t make trouble any way. more. She was still drunk... Pete But in most performing situa tions—especially the performing situations most amateurs come across—you’re not up on a stage doing a show. Jo nath an There’s more interaction. And so, the way to make that interesting is to make it unique and special for that particular audience. And the way to mak e it special is to pu ll the audience into the show. Now they become part of the show. So if somebody makes a comment, respond back. If something hap pens on stage, respond to it. Pete I still remember the best line I ever heard for dealing with a drunk spectator. You were in the CloseUp room, and one of your assist ing spectators was way drunk. And the show w as go in g gre at, but


Jo nath an It didn’t make her sober. Pete ...but it brought her under con trol. Jo nath an These are the moments when yo u ’re out there . I lik e to th ink of my magic act as I’m a guy who’s hanging out with all these people, and I’m doing some cool stuff, and I’m jus t as am azed as the audience is. So we are both going out for this ride, and I don’t know what’s going to happen, and we’re taking this ride together. I’ve had instances where people in the audie nce will be sitting there, and their arms are crossed, and they look stern. And I’ll look at them and just say, “You look pissed.” And at that moment they laugh, their arms become un folded, and they smile. And now they’re part of the show. So you

ju s t a c c e p t and an d a c k n o w le d g e that th at they’re there, and you don’t ignore them, but respond to them, and make them a part of the show.

a script. Because it gives you that security blanket that makes it saf er for you to go with the audience. You can ca n lo s e y o u r s e l f in the th e m o  ment, and if nothing comes of it, yo y o u can ca n s till ti ll pull pu ll it off, of f, an d fin fi n ish is h strong. Being available is another aspect of this that’s applicable to magic. You have to be as willing to allow things to happen to you as the audience is to allow things to happen to them. Then you both can experience it together.

Pete There’s something about honesty, about just responding to what happened. You don’t have to have a clever line. I mean, you’re not going to read one of those books of one-liners, and turn to the chapter on drunk hecklers, and see, “You’re so drunk.” But it’s so Pete much better than any canned line. Because people can tell if some If somebody says something, and y o u im m e d ia te ly m ake ak e it p a rt o f thing’s a line. And to respond the yo wa w a y y o u did di d , th ey k n ew that th at it w a s the show, the audience knows not no t a line — it was actu ally you r they’re seeing something that the genuine response. For the entire last audience didn’t see. audience, it totally cemented the Jo J o n a t h a n moment. They knew that you were there, with them, fully. It’s special to them. And again it’s not ignoring the bagel. A friend of mine was in a show recently, and Jo n a th a n Be in the moment. That’s another it was a Passion Play. And during the crucifixion, a woman from the big acting concept. audience was overcome by the story. She jumps on stage, crying Pete This is another one of those things “No! Don’t take Jesus!” All the ac that you tell your average amateur tors on stage are stunned, and no magician, and even a few profes body has any idea what to do. But sional magicians, “You really need one guy—an extra, basically, play to be in the moment,” and they ing a Roman Guard — step pe d up, nod, but the next time they’re per stopped her, and took her away, off forming, they don’t know what to stage. His character took over, and did what he would have done. do differently. So what do you do, in practical terms, to be in the mo Pete ment? He was a hero. That was probably the highlight of his run. Jo n a t h a n Look around, and be willing to in Jo n a t h a n teract, and react to what ha ppened . Ye s. S om e p e o p le in the th e a u d ie n c e And An d on e p r a c tic ti c a l th in g y o u can ca n Yes. do to make that easier, is to write didn’t know if that was part of the

show, because that’s what a Ro man Guard would have done. His character took over. Fete The more you work on your char acter, the easier it is for you to re spond to those moments. Jo n a th a n Because you’re more comfortable being in your character. And if you are alive, and you are available to yo y o u r sh o w an d to y o u r au d ie n c e , w o n d e rfu rf u l m o m e n ts com co m e to y o u , and you can add them to your script to make it better. But you have to be available, to tell when yo y o u h av e a c h a n c e to re sp o n d . And An d yo u h a v e to be w illi il lin n g . An d, yo y o u ha v e to h av e a sc rip ri p t. Pete Let’s talk about the physical skills of the actor: voice and movement. Jo n a th a n When I sta st a rt e d as a stre st re et p e r former, I would hurt my voice every night. Because I would be ye y e llin ll in g , fro fr o m m y thro th roat at,, in ste st e a d of speaking from my diaphragm. When I sta s ta rt e d to trai tr ain n as an acto ac tor, r, I learned how to breathe. When yo u firs fi rstt p a y atte at ten n tion ti on to y o u r breathing, you’ll probably find it’s coming from your lungs. But whe w hen n y o u ’re ’r e b re a th in g p ro p e rly rl y , it’s your diaphragm that expands, not your lungs. A great exercise is to lay down on the ground, flat on yo y o u r b ac k, c lo se y o u r e y e s , and an d breathe, and imagine the breath coming in through your nose, and imagine it goes all the way down

SCRIPTIN SCRIPTING G MAGIC MAGIC | 92

to your diaphragm, in your abdo men. And feel your diaphragm ex pand and contract. And that is the proper way to breathe. Pete Now you can talk much longer. Jo n a th a n One, I can speak deeper. Because I’m not back in my throat, here. And An d two, tw o, I can ca n p ro je c t m ore, or e, it ’s not getting getting cau ght up in my throat. Houdini played the Hippodrome wit w ith h o u t am p lifi li ficc a tio ti o n . L ea rnin rn in g to breathe is probably the most im portant physical skill for a magi cian. I used to breathe improperly, from my lungs. Pavarotti does not breathe from his lungs. Pete When I took to ok s in g in g le s s o n s in c o l lege, the first two hours was just breathing. Jo n a th a n When y o u w o rk the th e C as tle, tl e, y o u might do 24-30 shows in a week. If you don’t know how to breathe, yo y o u ’re g o in g to h u rt y o u r v o ic e b y the end of the week. I would say, if yo u lear le arn n n o th in g e ls e ab o ut v o c a l production, just try this exercise: Lie on the ground, and think about yo y o u r b rea re a th in g. A nd w hen he n y o u ’re ’r e talking—any time, on stage and off—think about your breathing. Pete My former roommate sings on Broadway, and he studied with a cantor who taught him an exer cise where he he would s ing — single notes, notes, or even jus t h um ming— but

on the inhale instead of the ex Jo n a t h a n hale. I foun d this m ade a huge Think about how you follow difference in my tone. He gave me through on your swing when you two sessions of this, and my voice play golf, or tennis. You need fol Improved dramatically. It felt so low through in your voice, to get we w e ird ir d to do it. My h ea d w o u ld sta st a rt to the last person in the last row. buzzing, and after maybe five sec If yo u ’re spea king to the the front row, row, onds I would start coughing. Soon vo v o lu m e - w is e , an d a ls o w h e r e y o u r the coughing stopped, and I real mouth and face are focused, then ized that the buzzing was a good yo y o u r s o u n d d o e s n ’t h a v e a ch a n c e thing. And in two sessions my to travel up to the top of the the singing voice was richer. ater. But if you raise your head, and you project to the back wall, Jo J o n a t h a n yo y o u kn o w y o u ’ll get ge t e v e r y b o d y . Most people don’t learn this. So if you follow through on your They’re never taught how to vo v o ic e to the th e la st p e r so n in the th e last la st breathe, how to sing, to practice row, that is a big help. I used to on the inhale. come out on stage, and my head wa w a s h e ld do w n , so I w o u ld ign ig n o re Pete everybody in the room. A lot of Voca Vo call p r o d u c tio ti o n is no nott j u s t a m a t magicians, especially close-up ter of volume, and endurance. It’s magicians, will look down at the the range of sounds you’re able to table. And when they speak to the express, and your ability to pro table, nobody can hear them. You duce exactly the sound you want, need to lift your head up, and fol and to produce it every time you low through. need it. Pete Jo J o n a th a n I never heard it put that way be The w ay you say a line, line, a word, the fore. tone, the inflection, can change the meaning. It can make it funny. Jo J o n a t h a n Some people can take a line that I never put it that way until just isn’t funny, and make it funny by now. the way they say it. And if you can do that, and do it consistently, Pete y o u ’ll in c re a s e y o u r s u c c e s s . But So, what does this all add up to? vo v o lu m e is stil st illl im p o rt a n t. You Yo u he ar magicians who talk softly, and it’s Jo n a t h a n hard to hear them. And that’s no What it all al l a d d s up to is, is , take ta ke an good. acting class. I recommend every magician take an acting class. In Pete an acting class you’re going to So how do you work on that? learn about physicality, behavior, and voice. When you take an act

ing class, you’ll be nervous to do vo v o u s , and an d it w ill h elp el p you yo u to lear le arn n a scene. Because it’s something to be available, and open, and yo y o u ’re no nott fa m il ia r w ith . But w h en expose yourself. We were talking yo y o u sta st a rt s c r ip ti n g m agic ag ic,, th a t ’s about this earlier—actors expose more what you’re doing. One rea themselves. Most magicians, even son scripting many flamboy magic can be ant performers, B e f ore or e you can ca n b e scary to some are very closed som something thing you’ you’re not, magicians is be off. And magi cause they don’t cians that can you you have to le lea ar n think they’re expose them how to be what wh at you are ar e ve v e r y go od at p e r  selves, and be forming a scene. open, are much They’re good at getting up and do more interesting performers. So ing a trick. And it ’s true, th ey ’re not take acting classes, and improv that good at doing a scene—only classes too. because they haven’t done it. But that doesn’t mean you should Pete ju s t do so m e tr ic k s . It m ea n s y o u I’ve spoken to more than a few should get good at performing a magicians who tell me they im scene. And you get good at it by provise their patter—because doing it. “scripted patter sounds stale.” So I ask if they take improv classes, Pete and you’d be amazed how many of If you can do a scene, and have them have never even considered people take it as natural, all your it. I mean, if you like to improvise magic will be much better than if yo y o u r p e rf o rm a n c e s , grea gr ea t. But yo y o u c a n ’t do that th at.. don’t you want to be good at it?

.

Jo n a th a n Jo n a th a n An A n y th in g th at y o u do, do , if y o u m ake ak e Every magician should take an im it real, it’s more interesting. And prov class, even if you script ev in an acting class, you learn to erything, just so you can respond make it real. If you take any script to the audience. and read it like a script, you can make it boring. But if you take Pete the same script and make it real, I took an improv class when I lived yo y o u m ake ak e it in te r e s tin ti n g . An And d th a t ’s back in New York, and I remember w h y y o u ’re ’r e an acto ac tor, r, p la y in g the th e the first rule is Accept Every Offer. part of a magician. Because if you And A nd on onee n igh ig h t I w a s w a tc h in g y o u in the close-up gallery, and a wom don’t act it properly, it’s not real, and it’s not interesting. So any an had cut her card back into the body should take an acting class, deck. And she kind of interrupted and when you take the acting class yo y o u an d a s k e d , “Can “C an I sh u ffle ff le ? ” you y ou w ill be s c a re d , y o u w ill be n er  An d y o u sa id “S u r e .” An d I kn ew

SCRIPTING SCRIPTING MAGIC MAGIC | 94

yo u d id no nott w ant an t her he r to sh u ffle ff le,, but you had to accept every offer. It didn’t even occur to you to say anything other than “Sure.” Jo J o n a th a n Improv classes are so important. You le a rn to go w ith it h the th e flo w , and an d go with the moment, and not be afraid of it. That’s one thing that improv does for for yo u — it makes makes yo y o u no nott a fr a id . T h er e ar e m an y performers and magicians who are afraid of what’s going to hap pen. I still get nervous, but I’m not afraid anymore. When I come out from the curtain, I’m not afraid to come out. I can’t wait to come out. Because I don’t know what’s going to happen, and that’s the fun of it. And An d t h a t’s the w h o le id e a o f tak ta k in g improv classes, you’re in a safe environment where you can learn these things. Pete My favorite improv game is the one-word story. Two people get up on stage and improvise a story, and you alternate words—each person says one word at a time. To me this is the essence of improv, because you have to be ready to make a choice, but if the choice falls to your partner, you have to be ready to instantly drop your idea and follow their choice. Jo n a th a n You Yo u d o n ’t r e a lly ll y w an t to m ak e that th at choice in your head until you ab solutely have to. You want to just be in the moment. You can either be in the moment, or in your head. An A n d i f y o u ’re ’r e in y o u r h e a d , y o u ’ve ’v e

lost it. If you’re in your head, you can’t experience everything that’s happening to you. Now as a magi cian, you have to be able to think about what’s happening down the road a n d be in the moment. That’s wh w h y it ’s h a rd e r to be a m a g ic ian ia n , sometimes, than an actor. Pete We We t a lk e d ab o u t v o ic e , b u t w h at about movement. Any tips on how magicians can improve their physicality? Jo n a t h a n The way to do that is just pay at tention to your body, and the way yo y o u a c h ie v e that th at is, is , b y d o in g the tricks you’re most comfortable wit w ith h . A lot lo t o f am a teu te u r m a g ic ia n s learn a trick, and show it to their friends, and then you kind of run out of audience, so you learn a new trick. And when you do that, it’s really hard to get good enough at a trick that you can do it with out thinking. But when you can do a trick on autopilot, that’s wh w h en y o u can ca n p a y a tte tt e n tio ti o n to yo y o u r b o d y. M os tly tl y it’s it ’s d o in g the tricks you have the most experi ence with. The more comfortable yo u ar e d o in g the th e tric tr ick k , the th e le s s attention you have to pay to the method, the more you can pay at tention to your body. Pete That sounds like practical advice. Jo n a th a n And A nd I w o r k out. ou t. But w h at I c o n  centrate on mostly is my posture. I work on that every day, wheth

er I’m performing or not. If you slouch on stage, it’s awful. If you stand up straight, they will listen to you. Pete Time for the last question. Usually I ask, “If you could give just one piece of advice to someone start ing out scripting, what would it be?” But I’m going to ask you, if y o u ’re ta lkin lk in g to a m a g icia ic ian n w ho wan w an ts to e x p a n d th eir ei r ac tin ti n g a b il i ties, what would be your one piece of advice?

References Here are a few acts from Vernon’s list. Which do you want to see? The Suave Deceiver The Mastermind of Modern Mystery Past Master o f the Black B lack Art The Magical Milliner The Despair o f Monte Carlo Carlo The Wizard o f the West The Prince of Magic The 2nd Funniest Man in the World The Human Card Index The Dippy Mad Magician

Jo n a th a n I’d say, be real. Be honest. That’s the first step toward being an ac tor.

The Man with the X-ray Eyes The Enigma The Dizzy Wizard Wizard Merely a Magician

Pete Being honest is the first step to pretending? Jo n a th a n Before you can be something y o u ’re no not, t, y o u h a ve to lear le arn n how ho w to be what you are. Then you can be anything you want.

The Aristocrat o f Deception Deception The Seer of the South Sierras The Coney Island Faker My favorit favoritee is The Despair o f Mon te Carlo. By the way, a milliner is a maker of women’s hats. And no, I have no idea who that was.

The magic magic of o f drama is infinitely more powerfu powe rfull than the magic magic o f trick tricker ery. y. It I t is as avai availa labl blee to to the the co conjure jurerr as it is is to to the the ac actor tor. The The only difference difference is that th at actor actorss take it fo r granted, granted, whereas few conjurers are even aware that it exists.

Henning Neluis


No-Script Scripting

E

ugene Burger does two shows every year for audiences that speak no En glish— one o f the the experiences experiences that that taught taught him the value of

not talking talking all the the time, o f letting things speak for themselves . As Eugene says, the biggest problem most magicians have is they say

too much that is unnecessary. We repeat things which we didn’t even have to say the the first time. “ I have here the four Ac es — one, two, two, three, three, four.” Rafael Benatar calls this “magic for the blind.” Well, there’s no better way to find out how m uch o f what you say is unnec essary essar y than to perform silent silently. ly. You will wi ll see what wh at you yo u can com co m m u nicat nic atee with wi thout out sayin sa yin g anythi any thing. ng. An d ther th ere’ e’ss a big benefit that’s not immediately obvious: when you perform silently, you’ll automatically choose your most direct, easy-to-grasp effects. That’s probably a good thing for your repertoire ju st by itself. itself. Once you cut all all the the things you don’t really really need, you can put in som e ge nu nu  ine interaction with the audience. Talk as much as you want! Just don’t say the stu st u ff you don’t have have to say. say. Find someth ing bette better, r, someth s ometh ing that that makes mak es the effect more compelling, or interesting, funny, moving, thrilling, scary, spooky, or anything you like. But only say things that make the trick better than it is if you yo u don’ do n’tt say anyth any thing. ing. Performing silently also helps you appreciate non-verbal communication. Dai Vernon was a master at this. Often you have a double which you need to turn tur n over onto the deck, deck, so you can deal the top card to the table, table, sw itching itchin g the cards. Vernon advised to notice some dust on the table. Then turn the double face down as your right hand brushes the dust aside. Now you deal the face down card to the dust-free spot on the table. This is a great example of script ing a moment, making it more effective, without any dialog. Wha W hat’ t’ss partic par ticula ularly rly subt su btle le about abou t this is w h y it work wo rks. s. The Th e first fir st instin ins tinct ct is that it works because it motivates turning the cards over on top of the deck. But it doesn’t motivate anything, really. There’s no reason why you have to turn over the card on top of the deck before brushing the dust away. What happens is a moment where the audience doesn’t quite know what you’re do ing, and then they find out, at which point they stop paying attention to what you yo u are doing doi ng.. They Th ey figu fig u re it out for fo r th em se lv es— es — that’ tha t’ss a big b ig part o f why wh y this t his wor w orks ks.. All Al l that’ tha t’ss nece ne cess ssar aryy is that the audi au dien ence ce notices not ices som so m ethi et hing ng that they don’t yet yet understand, and theyfigur fig uree it out fo r themse themselves lves.. That process occupies their m ind and makes them stop stop wondering why you turned over the card card on top o f the the deck. deck.

If you you would like like to see an object object lesson in what you you can com mu nicate with out talking, watch any movie by Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton.

The Non-Script Script You can pe rfor rf orm m without with out a script, scrip t, w hile hi le still gettin get ting g a lot o f the benefit ben efitss o f scripting. What you do is create a hook, then give it a structure, which gives you som so m ethi et hing ng to talk about abou t with wi th the spectator. So you yo u introd intr oduce uce the subject, subje ct, in a way that keep the trick moving where it needs to go, but you don’t try to script your line s. You say your piece on the subject, and get ge t the spectator to tell tell you what wh at they the y think, think , and th e n — this thi s is the key pa rt— rt — you liste lis ten n to what w hat they the y say, say, and respon res pon d to it. it. In fact, i f you really want to get carried away, away, you don’t even start by saying your piece. Just ask the spectator a good question, and then go from there. The question is, what’s a good question? That’s a good question. I think a good question is one the spectators will enjoy answering. Whether that means a playful question, or a good setup for a funny line, or something genuinely interesting, or meaningful, is up to you and your audience. Multiple-c Multiple-choice hoice questions questions have a built-in built-in limiting mechan me chan ism. I f I ask you what wh at you y ou thin th ink k about abou t life, lif e, it will wil l be b e har h ard d for m e to control con trol how ho w m uch uc h o f an an an swer you’re going to give. But if I ask whether you prefer Vanilla or Chocolate, you answer, answ er, we discu di scuss ss your yo ur answer ans wer,, and an d then the n it’s it’ s over. So w e’ve interacted intera cted,, but I kept control of the situation. And multiple choice tests are always fertile environments for comedy.

Three Examples The next group of scripts all use structural devices to generate audience interaction. This is a subject very near and dear to the heart of former Boy Wonder Wond er Jon Jo n Arm Ar m stron str ong, g, so after aft er the scripts scrip ts you’ll yo u’ll find fin d an inter int ervie view w with Jon on this subject, and a trick from his professional repertoire with a script built around a flowchart.

SCRIPTING SCRIPTING MAGIC MAGIC | S8

The Add*A-Number Prediction

The Add*A-Number Prediction

I

n most prediction effects, the thing that is predicted is arrived at in a

random manner. And for good reason; reason; i f I predict predict your phone number, for example, you’ll just believe I somehow learned it in advance. So a prediction almost has to be o f a random rand om event. But in general, when whe n you

have something chosen randomly, you give up the chance to have it be mean ingful. So with this script, I wanted to be able to use a random number, which I could not possibly know in advance, advance, but a num ber that means something som ething to the spectators, so I can learn a little about them, and gives me a way to interact with wit h them. the m. An And d I inclu inc lude de m y s e lf in the proc pr oces esss o f gene ge nerat rating ing the numb nu mber, er, so the audience can learn a little little about me. Actually I start start with me, which wh ich makes m akes it easier for the audience to join in. The approach approach turns the random-num ber-generating process, which is often often pure dead time, into a valuable opportunity to interact with the audience. And it does it without you having to script your lines. Just talk with the spectator. Because interaction is at the heart of the trick, the script that follows will be just one possible performance. I’ve tried to give some indication of a few of the possible variations, but in reality what you say will vary considerably depending on what Alex says. So think of this more as an outline or a sample than a script.

It Adds Up by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete sits with Alex and Chris. On the table is a business card, folded and paper-clipped together. Pete takes out a note pad and pen. Pete I usually drink a Coke for lunch, almost every day. Sometimes one at dinner, I’m trying to cut down. Still, I probably drink about four hundred and nine Cokes every year. It’s amazing how it adds up. Pete writes 409 on the pad. Pete Do you drink Coke? Alex Sometimes. Pete How many Cokes, would you say, did you drink last year? Alex Maybe fifty-five. Pete writes 55 on the pad. Pete If I had your restraint, I’d keep a lot more of my New Year’s resolutions. Chris, do you drink Coke? Chris Diet. Pete Really? You don’t look like you need to diet. Maybe that’s because you don’t drink


409 Cokes a year like I do. Okay—how many Diet Cokes did you drink last year? Chris Seven hundred nineteen. Pete (writing) Okay, seven-nineteen... Smart move Diet Coke. All right... Pete mumbles to himself as he adds the numbers on the pad. Pete Nine plus five is fourteen plus nine is twenty three, carry the two, two plus five plus on e is eight, four plus three is seven. Alex, check my arithmetic please. Pete tears off the sheet of paper and hands it to Alex to check. Pete If I added right, the three of us drank one thousand one hundred and eighty-three Cokes in the past year. That right? Alex Yep. Pete unclips the paper-clipped business card. Pete Before the show started, I predicted how many Cokes the three of us had drank. I predicted one thousand... on e hundred... and eighty-three. Pete unfolds the business card. It says “1,183 Cokes.” Pete It’s amazing how it adds up.

The End

Notes on It Adds Up I’m very pleased with the opening. I’m a big believer in the value of do ing things for a little bit over a long tim e— this book would not exist other w is e— and so this expresses me well. And I find a perverse satisfaction that the specific examp le is drinking Coke, which is the opposite of what I really mean when I’m talking about the value of doing things for a little bit over a long time. This, I think, also expresses me well. This line then repeats itself nicely as a button on the end of the routine. This is how a lot of routines come together, in my experience.

A Brief Digression On Opening Lines There should probably be an entire essay in this book on openin g lines, but this one senten ce will have to do: A line you can recall in your last line is worth trying as a first line.

Method Magicians have created dozens of methods that can be used for this effect, from double-writing gimmicks to nail writers to billet knives to stooges. If you don’t yet have a personal favorite method for this trick, find one you like and adapt it to this script. It’ll be easy— the structure is very flexible. You may like this one, which I publish ed as "The Dream Num ber” in my one-man parade. It actually won the Howard Bamman award for best trick in The Linking Ring for the year 2002, which I mention only because I don’t get that many chances to bring it up in casual conversation. As with most of my creations, “Th e Dream Number” is a combination of two other magicians’s creations; in this case Al Koran’s “The Gold Medallion” and Jay Sankey’s “Pa per-Clipped” switch, which appears with Jay’s kind permission. “The Dream Number” is that relative rarity, a mentalist trick that requires sleight of hand, although everything is so well covered that it’s quite easy to learn. The result is a super clean effect with no unnatural m oves or unnecessary handling, and one in which nothing is written down that doesn’t need to be written down.

Setup Take a business card and write an easily remembered numb er on it— some thing around a thousand or so — followed by “Cokes.” Fold it in half, blank side in, and clip it closed with a large paper clip. Take another business card, fold it in half, write “ Cokes” on the bottom half, and unfold it. This will be called the duplicate. Take a 6 x 8-inch note pad — not spiral bound, the kind where, when you


ti*ar off a page, a stub of the top page stays behind in the binding. Tear off the first few sheets. Take the duplicate business card and put it under the top page of the pad. I’hen slide it up until it wedges into the bind ing at the top o f the pad. It should be held in place pretty safely, and concealed by the top sheet. Write a few things on the top sheet. Put the notepad and pen somewhere handy. I like to take out the paper-clipped card and put it aside, as though I haven't started the trick yet. The final switch is slightly better covered i f the audience does not know that this is a prediction, so I act as though the clipped card were not even part o f this trick — I say “This is later” unde r my breath, to myself. Then the trick begins.

Performance Bring out the note pad and the pen. Introduce the subject of cokes, and when you are ready to write down your number, tear off the top sheet to start with a fresh one. The duplicate business card is now on top o f the pad. Now you write down your num ber o f Cokes, and then those o f the two other spectators. In the script I've given a brief example of how this can go, but of course it will be different every time, and usually longer. After the numbers are written down you total them up. But as you are writ ing the total down on the pad, you also write it on the pre-folded duplicate business card. The first few times I did this effect, I tried very hard to disguise the fact that I was writing the number twice. Gradually I came to realize that I was worried for nothing. This realization actually helps, because the most important thing in making this deceptive is your casual attitude. Just add up the ones column, and write the number on the card, then write it again on the pad while you're saying “carry the one'' (or the two, or whatever). For the last number, write the number once (on the pad), give the pen a shake, as though it were skipping, and write the number again (on the dupe). Don't say anything about it. Just shake the pen. After the numbers have been totalled, tear o ff the top sheet, so you can hand it to Alex to verify. This is the point where you secretly refold the duplicate business card and steal it into left hand finger palm as you set the pad down. Now, i f the total happens to match the nu mber you wrote on the folded, paper-clipped card on the table, let Alex open it up and faint dead away. The other 999 times, you'll have to switch in the folded card in your left hand, courtesy of Jay Sankey's “Paper-Clipped” switch. Jay generously gave me permission to describe this great utility move that is easy to do, very casual looking, and

ditches the switched-out card in a natural and well-motivated way that leaves you completely clean. The folded duplicate card is finger-palmed in your left hand. Pick up the the paper-clipped card between right first finger and thumb. The crease should be on the bottom edge o f the card, with the clip sticking up from the top. The left hand reaches up to take the paper clip with the left thumb and first finger; the prefolded card, still hidden in fin ger palm, goes on the audience side o f the preclipped card. The lower right corner of the prefolded card slides in between the right first finger and the preclipped card, so the right hand can grasp the card being switched in. The left thumb presses the paper clip against the left first finger, and pulls it up; the thumb also presses the preclipped card, and it comes away too, leaving the duplicate card right where the clipped card was. Put the paper clip in your pocket, ditching the original clipped card with it. You are now clean. Try not to sm ile too much. Reveal the number and take a bow.

Adaptation The first thing you can do is replace “How many Cokes did you drink in the past year” with a different question. The trick is to pick something that is random but also means something. This is not that hard, but you can’t just pick anything; if you ask people for their street address, for example, that’s go ing to be random, but won’t mean anything. Here are a few questions that can generate interesting interaction with the audience: • How many CDs (or DVDs, etc.) do you have? • How many people have you kissed? • How old is your house? • How man y pairs of shoes do you own? • What is the nu mber of your favorite radio station? • What’s the fastest you’ve ever driven in a car? I have an idea for this routine that I really like, but I haven’t been able to make it work yet. You total the Cokes you’ve each drunk in the last year, and it comes out to 1,183. Alex reads the prediction, which says 1,184 — You misse d by one. But when the audience looks at you, you are holding a Coke, which you’ve somehow produced, and you toast the audience, thus correcting th e prediction. I really like the idea of a magical production to climax this piece of mentalism, although I know this idea fills some magicians and mentalists with hor ror. But I think the timing is very subtle. I wouldn’t want to have the audience

SCRIPTING MAGIC I 104

set* the prediction is off by one, then look at me, then to save myself I produce a

soda. I would want the audience to realize the prediction is off by one, and

when they look at me I am already drinking from a soda is just mysteriously there.

References “The Dream Number” appeared in The Linking Ring magazine in May 2002. Did I mention I won a prize? Cause this is pretty much my last chance to bring it up. The Gold Medallion appeared in Al Koran's Professional Presentations, writ ten by Hugh Miller and published in 1968 by Harry Stanley. The “Paper-Clipped” switch originally appeared in “* & $ @ !” in the book 300 % Sankey, written by Richard Kaufman, and it’s also taught on one of the

Sankey-tized videos. But the best way to learn it is Jay’s recent DVD called Paper-Clipped! which covers in great detail every aspect of the original playing card routine, along with five typically clever Jay Sankey effects using the switch with bills, business cards, and more. If you like this move, get the video at www.sankeym agic.com and tell Jay I sent you.

There are some really clever tricks that use marked cards in indirect ways no audience would ever suspect. That’ s good, because marke d cards are one of the very few mag ical methods w hose existence is known by virtually all adults. It is generally accepted that the worst possible trick you can do with a marked deck is to have someone pick a card, read the mark, and then name the card. But it’s also the best trick, because it’s the most direct, dead easy method pos sible for producing the most direct, powerful effect. You just have to keep the audience from thinking o f a marked deck. In this chapter we will see four scripts for the exact same trick o f nam ing a selected card. T hey all use different versions o f the same basic strategy to keep the audience from thinking of a marked deck, which is: to present something more interesting for the audience to think about. Each creates it’s own alter nate reality— a specific magical explanation for what’s happen ing. Don’t limit yourself to these four examples. This is an extremely easy trick to make up versions of. I f you’re having trouble getting started coming up with ideas for scripts, get you rself a marked deck. How are you learning the card’s identity? Can you read minds? Do you have a sixth sense? Can you track the position of every card in your head through all the shuffles? Pick something. In my experience, pseudo-explanation tricks work better the more specific the fake explanation is. Once you pick your alternate reality, that drives everything. When I claim I am calculating the echoes of the original deck order in the shuffled deck, I try to act like I’m doing that. Many magicians don’t really try to do this at all— they just pretend. And the audience reacts as though the person were pretending. They get bored, and to occupy their minds, they try to figure out the trick.

Four Scripts The first script that follows is by Gary Ouellet. Gary was an excellent writer o f magic and one o f the most su ccessful producers o f magic on television o f his generation. I had several email exchanges with Gary, mostly involving me asking him for permission to include something he created in a trick I was writing up, w hich he always gave generously. Before we got the chance to meet in person, he was taken, far too young. I’m glad to help keep his work alive. His script has a classic structure that just works. After Ga ry’s script are three o f m y own, each o f which explores a different way to create a believable magical atm osphere. I had been playing around w ith


a marked deck for about a year or so, and one day, while driving to the Magic Castle, the idea for “Echoes” popped into my head. As soon as I got there, I performed it for several people, magicians and otherwise. Everyone was totally sucked in by the premise and fooled completely— even a few magicians who knew that I'd been working with a marked deck. If nothing else, this demon strates the power a meaningful presentation can have in providing cover for the method. A couple o f weeks later I thought of the idea behind “The Cincinnati Kid.” I shared it with Jon Armstrong, who had recently acquired a Boris Wild marked deck, and he used it to great effect while working the bar. Then finally I came up with “My Favorite Things,” which is my personal favorite and the one I think is best suited for the most audiences. However I have added a climax to “Echoes” which, in a formal setting, provides a great finish. Ultimately, each works best for a different combination o f person and audi ence, and they’re all easy to remember, so you can pick the best version each time.

I f you will make it easy on yourselfand make it easy on the audience, you will be in control o f what you are doing. Then both you and the audience will be comfortable. Your usual self will come through and your performance will have some appearance o f naturalness. To be natural it is only necessary to be sincere.

Ross Bertram.

The HumaflGalvanometer by G a r y OKQllet Int— Liv in g Room— Evening Gary

to s se s adeck on to the tab le in fron t of Alex. Gary Tal^these cards and have a look at them; theyare all different, right? As a matter of fact, we can use your deck if you want—th ey ’re j u s t or di na ry cards. Okay, plea.se shuffle them.

Alex ss h u ff le s the car ds. Gary Before we start: are you a good liar? Alex

Ale< Y««es.

No.

Gaif Wee’ll see about that!

Gary Good—that makes my job easier!

Gary It isimportant t ha t th e car d you select is tiiily random, not one you would consciously choose. So I want you to deal caids face-down upon the table until you feel like suddenly dealing one card aside, fact down as well. Go ahead. Whiles Alex deals through the deck and deals one card aside, Gary tu rn s his back. Gary Non want yo u to se lect one other person froflthe audience to come up and be yoif witn ess. Only you two will kn ow th e identity of the card. So it won’t be your

SCRIPTING MA GIC (C | 108

word against mine! Your witness must say nothing, give me no sign at all. Alex points to Pat to be the witness. Gary Okay, go ahead, peek at the card, show it to your witness and no one else, and place the card back into the middle of the deck, then place the deck back inside its case. All done? Good. Gary turns back to Alex. Gary Now, are you satisfied that the card you chose is truly a random choice and that only two of you know the card? If not we can start again. Alex I’m good. Gary Great. Now, I am going to ask you questions, such as: Was it a red card? Or, Was it an even number? And no matter what I ask, you must always answer “No.” Sometimes you will be tel ling the truth, obviously, and sometimes you will be lying. I am going to try to tell the difference by listening to your voice, by looking at you intently. So try to lie like a champion. (to the rest of the audience) You, ladies and gentlemen of the audience, can try, as I do, to see if you can tell when Alex is lying. (to Alex) Are you ready? Remember, to every question , an sw er “No.” Was it a red card? Alex No.

Gary Was it a black card? Alex No. Gary Concentra te, bu t always an swer “No.” A red card? Alex No. Gary A black card? Alex No. Gary A red card? Alex No. Gary A red card? Alex No. Gary I think it was. I think it was a red card. Was it a Diamond? Alex No. Gary A Heart? Alex No.


Gary A Diamond? Alex No. Gary A Heart? Alex No. Gary A Heart? Alex No. Gary You gave yourself away, I’m afraid. It’s a Heart. (To the audience) Did you notice that, ladies and gentlemen? (To Alex) Was it a number card? Alex No. Gary A picture card? Alex No. Gary A number card? Alex No. Gary A picture card?

Alex

No. Gary A picture card? Alex No. Gary Your nose is growing. Was it the Jack of Hearts? Alex No. Gary The Queen of Hearts? Alex No. Gary The King of Hearts? Alex No. Gary The Queen of Hearts? Alex No. Gary The Queen of Hearts? Alex No. Pause. Gary The Queen of Hearts?


Finally, Alex starts laughing. Gary I think you are lying to me, my friend! Witness, what card was it? Witness The Queen of Hearts. Gary The Queen of Hearts!

The End

Notes on The Human Galvanometer This may be the easiest script in the entire book to remember. After the initial spiel to set up the lie detector prem ise, all you’re doing is reading o ff the colors, suits, and values o f cards. So if you’re not used to perfor min g scripted material and want to give it a try, this is a great place to start. Becau se your part is so simple, and so sim ply constructed, you have maxim um leeway to liven up your performance by acting, should you have the talent. Each tim e you ask a question you can adopt a different tone, or attitude. You can be slyly trying to catch Alex out. You can be humo rously m aking fun o f the impossibility o f the situation. You can be taking it all very seriously— which may be the funniest approach o f all. By the way, note how Gary tells Alex what to do before they begin, and then repeats this when the trick beg ins — twice. Does this seem like overkill? It is not. It’s the most basic form o f professiona lism for you to make sure the spec tator gets it right. More important, it’s a courtesy to the spectator.

Method When you first read this script, it seem s as if Gary asks if Alex wants to use a different deck. But he doesn’t, really. He says out loud that he could use Alex’s deck, but he doesn’t actually ask if Alex would like to. You don’t, by the way, need to use a marked deck. You can take any shuffled deck, glimpse a card, and force it. Or you can offer a free selection and glimpse it. You can glimpse a card, then try to classic force it, and i f you m iss the force, glimpse the selection. Or just use a stacked deck, and glimpse the card next to the selection. Notice how the action line says “While Alex deals through the deck and deals one card aside, Gary turns his back.” This is definitely what the specta tors remember. Of course you don’t turn your back until Alex has dealt the card aside, but the audience remem bers your back being turned when it mat tered.

Adaptation One of the interesting features of this script is that if you perform it, you will almost autom atically adapt it to your own personality and character. You may like to replace a few o f Gary’ s lin es — like "Your nose is growing,” for exam ple— but most o f the lines o f this script have no built-in interpretation. It’s all how you play it. I f you like, you can have Alex keep the selection, som ewhere you can’t see

SCRIPTING MAGIC I 11 4

it. That way at the climax, instead of asking the witness to confirm the card’s identity, you can pick up the card and show it to the audience. This is probably preferable, as your timing will be better than your spectators’. If not, perhaps they should be doing the tricks.

References This script appeared in Gary Ouellet’s “Fulminations” column in Genii, March 1991. The basic idea goes back at least as far as 1951 and Al Baker’s “The Lie Detector” from Pet Secrets, which is reprinted in The Secret Ways o f Al Baker , The Miracle Factory, 2004.

Meaning is the best misdirection.

Kenton Knepper

Echoes by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete sits at the table with his friend Alex, shuffling a deck of cards. Pete Echoes never die, really. Anytime energy goes out, it bounces off something and comes back. It doesn’t come back as strong, so it fades. But it never goes away completely. It just gets so faint we can’t hear it anymore. Pete takes the deck and spreads it face up on the table. Pete This deck is in a random order, mostly. But it’s not completely random. Because it started in new deck order, and since then it’s been shuffled, I don’t know, hundreds of times, probably. Pete picks up the deck and gives it a few more shuffles. Pete And every shuffle, the original order gets fainter and fainter, but it never goes away completely. No matter how many times you shuffle, an echo of that order will remain in the deck. I’ll show you. Pete spreads the deck face down across the table. Pete Alex, if you would, please touch any card, but do n’t move it out of th e spread, th a t’s crucial. Alex touches the back of a card.


Pete

Okay, leave that one face down. But we’re going to turn up four cards on each side. Leaving Alex’s card face down, Pete turns over four cards above and below it. Pete looks at the cards for a few seconds. Pete Well, it’s a Club. Pete begins repeating the names of the cards surrounding the selection, to himself, over and over. Pete (to himself) Let’s see, Three of Diamonds, Four of Clubs, Ten of Spades, Queen of Spades. Three of Diamonds, Four of Clubs, Ten of Spades, Queen of Spades. (pause) Three of Diamonds... Four of Clubs... Ten of Spades... Queen of Spades. The echo is very faint, but that must be the Seven of Clubs. Alex reaches for the card. Pete Or maybe the Eight. But probably the Seven. Alex tu rn s over the card. It’s the Eight of Clubs. Pete Let me do that again. You shuffle this time. Alex shuffles the deck. Pete Because this probably looks like a card trick. You shuffle, so you know... Great. Thank you. Pete spreads the shuffled deck across the table.

Pete

Touch any card—doesn’t have to be from the same part of the deck. It’s not any easier or harder. It’s the same echo. Alex touches a card. Pete See if we can do it with just two cards. I usually close with this, but I got four cards pretty well, so let’s go. Pete turns over two cards on either side of the touched card. He draws his breath in sharply, as if he does not like what he sees. Pete It’s... a black card. Pete studies the two face-up cards. He takes a deep breath, and tries to relax. Pete (very calmly) If you force it, you get nothing. (pause) That is either the Four of Spades, or the Jack o f Clubs. It’s the Four of Spades. Alex turn s over the ca rd —it ’s the Jack of Clubs. Pete Damn. Pete turns over a few more cards above the selected card. Then he turns over a few cards below the selection, where he finds the Four of Spades. Pete (to himself) Below? Pete frowns—he does not understand what went wrong.


Pete

Well, I hope that was close enough that you’ll let me try one last time. Alex Of course. Pete Shuffle three more times. Pete gives the deck to Alex, who shuffles three more times. Pete Spread them across the table. Alex spreads the cards across the table. Pete Touch one. Alex touches one. Pete Now don ’t turn ov er an y car ds. Count all the cards above the card you touched. Alex counts. Alex Eighteen. Pete So you touched the nineteenth card in the deck. Alex Yes. Pete Okay. You could never do this first, just count to a number, tell you what card that is. But because I’ve seen, what... half a dozen cards during the last few phases. And I know where every one of them is in the original deck order.


Pete takes three rapid breaths in and out, then one last huge breath in, wh ich he le ts out very slowly. Sudd enly it comes to him, and he looks up with a smile. Pete It’s the Nine of Diamonds. Pete turn s t he c ard ar ound . It’s the Nine of Diam onds. Pete picks up the deck and begins shuffling. Pete And because the original order is still echoing around in the deck, if your fingers are very sensitive, it is possible to reverse the effect of all the shuffles that have come in between, including the four or five shuffles you gave. Pete spreads the deck face down across the table. Pete Echoes never die. If you listen hard enough... He slowly turns the spread over. The entire deck is back in new deck order. Pete ...you can still hear them.

The End

Notes on Echoes This is just tantalizingly possible. That’s the ke y— people want this to be true. But to have this work for you, you have to act as though you are doing exactly what you say. You do not have to be a great actor. You’re not pretending to experience the depths of human emotion. You’re just pretending to make some calculations. If you want to be a method actor, actually do some calcula tions. Divide 363 by 7, in your head. By the way, studies show that when people do math in their head, they tend to look up and to the right. This script invites the audience to be profoundly silent at the end, so it may not generate loud applause. But the profound m oment will resonate long after the applause would die down. You’ll get that applause back at the end of the show, with interest. Echoes is a great script for people who do not have a great deal of experience acting. The acting requirements are really very straightforward— you can do it, and if you can’t, you can learn how. But the acting is vital to the trick. You can’t pretend, you have to act as though you were actually doing it. A lot of magicians, when they come to a moment that requires acting, just pretend to be doing the thing. Audiences can immediately tell the difference. And, by and large, they’re not interested in watching people pretend. So i f you’ve always wanted to try acting, to see what it can do for your magic, grab a marked deck and give this a go.

Method If you use the (optional) new-deck-order climax, you’re obviously going to have to switch decks, then do a few false shuffles until you want to reveal the climax. I’ve used a deck shell for the switch, so the stacked deck is concealed on the table during the entire routine. All the best deck switches I know are all based on scripting. In this trick, you act as i f the trick is over. At that point, you could just put one deck in your left pocket and pull the other one out of your right pocket, and it would fly. In fact, the best deck switch I know pretty much works exactly like that.

Adaptation The climax is optional. I’ve done this without it, and the final phase, where you determine the card just by its number in the deck, is a good finish. In this presentation, you are actively calculating the cards. So you could bring out a calculator and start hitting some numbers, then name the card. This will provide its own level of just-barely believability to what you’re do-

ing. But only if you genuinely use the calculator. If you just press buttons randomly people will very possibly think you're just being stupid. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) But actually doing a few calculations can be surprisingly effective. By the way, there is a whole genre of calculator bits where you enter a num ber in the calculator and then turn the display upside down and read off a word— with a 4 making an “h ,” and so on. So, for som e cards the calculator it se lf can name the final card. For the Eight of Hearts, you can enter “4 8” on the calculator and when you turn it upside down it will say “ 8h.” T his only works for the 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9 of Hearts and Spades, but this limitation could be overcome if you had a script that needed it. Finally, if you use the calculator, you can gaff it to hide the deck for the cli max. Despite what you might think, they still make calculators big enough to hide a deck of cards.

The Cincinnati Kid by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete sits with his friend Alex. Pete There’s a scene in the movie “The Cincinnati Kid;” Steve McQueen plays a great poker player, and this woman, the love interest, asks why he’s so good. He says, “I’ll sh show ow y o u .” He has he r pi ck a card, and then he looks at her and says “Three of Clu bs.” And she n ods , like like th at explains everything. But I thought—that doesn’t make sense. Do you play poker? Alex I used to play in college. Pete So you know that if you just pick a card at random, not even the greatest poker pl a y er in t h e w o rl d c an tell te ll w h a t it is. Th Thee card doesn’t mean anything. Only when you’re drawing to a hand can an expert read your tells. Pete begins running through a deck and removing a few cards. Pete Did you win, when you played? Alex I broke even. Pete My dad told me: The definition of a gambler is someone who says “I hope I br b r e a k e v e n — I ne n e e d th e m o n e y .” Pete shows the cards he removed: the Six, Seven, Eight, and Ten of Hearts.

Pete

This is your hand. Okay? You’ve got an inside draw to a straight flush. Now shuffle the deck, give it a cut. Alex shuffles and cuts the cards. Pete Now, Now, dea de a l y o u r s e l f one on e car ca r d, o n t o y o u r hand. Alex deals the top card onto the four Hearts. Pete Now, Now, I wa n t yo you u t o i ma gi ne t h a t y o u ’re pla pl a y in g po poke ker, r, a n d y o u ’ve j u s t d ra w n on onee to an inside straight-flush draw. Go ahead and see what you’ve got, but don’t give away anything about your hand. Alex slowly squeezes out the last card. Pete watches closely. Pete Okay, square up the cards and put them down. Alex puts the cards on the table. Pete keeps watching, closely. Finally, Pete relaxes, satisfied. Pete Okay. At first, you thought maybe you got the flush, so it must be a red card, bu b u t t h e n yo you u d i d n ’t g e t it, so it m u s t be a Diamond. And you didn’t get the straight, bu b u t it di d ma ke y o u r h a n d bet be t te r, j u s t . . . not that much better. You must have pa p a i r e d up up.. But yo u we re ma d t h a t it was wa s the lowest card you could have paired, so it must have been the Six of Diamonds. Alex shows show s the th e c a r d —i t’s t’s the th e Six Six of Diamond Dia monds. s.

The End

SCRIPTIN SCRIPTING G MAGIC MAGIC | 124

Notes on The Cincinnati Kid In this script I’ve written in a brief exchange about Alex’s previous poker experience. In an informal in formal situation situation we could talk talk about poker for quite quite som e time. Obviously this routine will only play if both you and Alex are pretty conver sant with poker. Alex has to know poker to appreciate what you’re doing, and you yo u have ha ve to kno k now w poker pok er to be able to im prov pr ovise ise a credib cre dible le explan exp lanatio ation n o f what thought process you are detecting. Credibility is the reason this script plays. I f you recited a list o f fake fake tells tells — “your left eye twitched, twitched, which means mea ns it’s a Diam ond” — It wouldn’t be nearly as effective. effective. By describing Alex’s thought process, you make the trick about Alex, rather than the poker hand. And you’ll find that quite often at least one of your comments will match very closely what wh at A lex le x was w as think thi nking ing.. You Yo u only onl y have to get on onee such su ch co com m m ent en t right righ t on and the effect on Alex will be tremendous. And even if you get them all wrong, only Alex will know, and when Alex shows that you have nailed the card, ev eryone else will assume your analysis was equally right.

Adap Ad apta tatio tion n For some reason this seems to me like more of a standalone trick than “Echoes.” Still, having come up with the restored-order climax to “Echoes,” I have considered how to put a climax on “The Cincinnati Kid.” The most interesting approach I’ve come up with is forcing the Nine of Hearts, so Alex manages to fill the inside straight flush. But I can’t figure out how to integrate that in what I already have, so maybe it's one of those tantalizing ideas that doesn’t really work. One night, while Jon Armstrong was trying this at the Magic Castle, he was talking with a spectat spectator or and found foun d that that the the man ma n was w as more familiar with black jack jac k than th an poker. Jon imm im m edia ed iatel telyy impr im provi ovised sed a vers ve rsio ion n wher wh eree they w ere play pla y ing multiple hands of blackjack, and Jon read the man's tells when he looked at his down cards. This man got a unique customized performance from Jon Arm A rm stro st rong ng . That Th at's 's one bene be nefit fit o f usin us ing g a m arke ar ked d d ec k— it’s it’ s easy ea sy to adapt ad apt the presentation like this on the fly.

My Favorite Things by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room — Evening. Pete hands his friend Alex a deck of cards. Pete 1want you to pick pick out your three favorite cards. Now, I know a lot of magicians. And you can ask a magician his three favorite cards, and he’ll actually have three favorite playing cards. But you are a relatively normal person, and so 1believe that you will not have three favorite pla p la y in g car ca r ds ds,, or on one, e, ev en. en . So I want wa nt you to go through the deck and pull out whatever three cards appeal to you most right now. Okay? You’re not necessarily saying that these are your... (air quotes) ...“fa ...“fa vo rite ri te”” cards. car ds. But But I do need ne ed you to pic p ic k th r e e c a r d s t h a t a p p e a l to y ou th e most right now. If you pick three random cards this will not work. Alex pulls out three cards. Pete Put your favorite here, second here, third here. Alex places three cards on the table. Pete Now, if I can c an n a m e y o u r fav fa v ori or i te car ca r d, that’s pretty good. But most people’s favorite card is pretty obvious, like the Ace of Spades or Queen of Hearts. Second favorite card is much harder, although som etim es it’s it’s ju st the o the r of those two. two. But if I can get your third favorite card, that would be a miracle.

SCRIPTI SCRIPTING NG MAGIC MAGIC I 126

Pete rubs his forehead to get ready. Pete And so, let me ask you this: What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Alex Rocky Road. Pete How long has that been your favorite? Alex Long time. Pete You know, no one ever says vanilla, but it’s the best-selling ice cream in the world. Cup or cone? Alex Cup. Pete Interesting—what kind of toppings? Alex Strawberry syrup and whipped cream. Pete Yeah, that wouldn’t work in a cone, would it? Nuts? Alex No. Pete Well, those are all popular answers. In that case, I believe that this will be the Queen of Hearts. Hearts. Pete turns over Alex’s favorite card: the Queen of Hearts.

Pete

As I said, t h a t’s t’s not th at h a r d — the Queen of Hearts is a very popular card. The sec ond card is much harde r. Unless it’s it’s the Ace of Spades, but I can already tell you didn’t pick the Ace of Spades, because it’ it ’s too obvious ob vious . Let me as k you this: What What is your favorite day of the week? Alex Saturday. Pete And your favorite month of the year? Alex December. Pete Because of the holidays, or snow? Alex The holidays. Pete What’s What’s yo ur favor ite ho ur of the day? Alex Eight to nine PM. Pete frowns. Pete I had you, until the hour. That just means I need your second favorite card to be ei th er a D iamond, iamond , or a Nine. Nine. If it’ it ’s the Nine Nin e of Di a m on ds , t h e n I ca c a n n o t on onll y tell te ll you w hat you r thir d favorite card is, is, I can tell you your PIN number. (pause) If it’s a Spade I’m completely screwed. Pete turns over the second favorite: the Eight of Diamonds.


Pete

Close. Okay, I’m pretty sure 1know what your third favorite card is, but let me ask you one last thing: What is your favorite song of all time? Alex “So me wher wh ere” e” from fr om West West Side Side Story. Pete I’ve always loved that song, but I love it even more now, because it confirms what I suspected: Your third favorite card is the Three of Clubs. Pete turns over Alex’s favorite card. It’s the Three of Clubs.

The End


Notes on My Favorite Things This is my favorite of these three tricks. Actually, the presentation in “Echoes” appeals more strongly to my personal aesthetic sense; the notion of patterns patterns hidden in randomnes rando mness, s, o f echoes that that grow fainter but never die, die, the idea that you can extract meaning from chaos. But I understand that these are fairly esoteric subjects. To many people these ideas are mathematical and a bit con fusing fusi ng— — they’re things the average average person hasn’t thought much about. about. “My “M y Favorit Favoritee Th ings” ing s” will resonate with more people. people. I also think it’s better because it involves the audience more directly. You can see that that just by comparing the scripts — “My Favori Favorite te Thin gs” has m ore lines by Alex than either “Echoes” or “The Cincinnati Kid.” In an informal setting you can talk about Alex’s favorite month, or ice cream topping, for ten minutes, and then go back to the trick.

Adap Ad aptat tation ion Obviously, you can replace all the questions I ask Alex with your own ques tions: What is your favorite movie, car, soda, vegetable, bread, condiment, Beatle, food, animal, color, TV show, shoe, etc. Most people will have a ready answer for any o f these categories, categories, but you can also ask people questions that will wi ll requir req uiree them th em to think. th ink. For exam ex ample ple,, what wh at is your yo ur favorite favo rite knot? knot ? Most peo pe o ple don’t don’t have a favorite favorite knot, knot, and m any m ight not know the nam es o f differ ent kinds o f knots (square knot, knot, slip knot, gra nny knot, shoelace knot, double knot, etc.). So you explain the choices, and ask them which they like. I would avoid asking people what their favorite number is, in case they say seven and one of their favorite cards turns out to be the Seven of Hearts.

The more relevant the effect is to their lives, the less the audience is concerned with the method.

Bob Neale


Jon Jo n Armstron Arm strong: g: Going with the Flow

I

was w as talkin tal king g with wit h Jon A rm stro st rong ng about abou t scrip scr iptin ting, g, and he told m e that instead of scripts, most of his tricks work off a flowchart structure. This is a very very powerful and advanced advanced form o f scripting, scripting, and I was very happy when Jon agreed to include his flowchart, which follows the

interview. Flowchart scripting is extremely demanding, as you have to switch tracks with w ithou outt skip sk ippi ping ng a beat. Th is techn tec hniqu iquee is u sual su ally ly the provin pro vince ce o f the p rofe ro fes s sional, as it requires consistent work to keep the options going in your head. O f course, Jon Armstrong works pretty pretty damned consistently— he’s only 32 and he’s been working professionally for 17 years. And not just kid shows; his first steady gig was at DisneyWorld’s Epcot Center, and he recently won Close Up Magician Mag ician o f the Year Year from the Magic Castle. Castle.

Read this first The followin g interview interview makes mak es m ore sense i f you know Jon’ s opening trick trick,, wh ich he publ pu blish ish ed in his hi s Thoughts from lecture notes. fr om a Former For mer Boy Wonder Wonder lecture The title of the trick is “My Opening Act”, which is an illuminating way of thinking all by itself. Just to make this clear: This is the opening trick with wh^:h wh ^:h Jon has ha s earned earn ed his hi s livin liv ing g for 15 years yea rs now. Take a deck, a Card-in-Wallet wallet, and a rubber band. Select a couple in the audie nce — boyfriend and girlfriend, married, first first date date,, but a couple. couple. Have Adam shuffle the deck and put the rubber band around it. Take back the deck and have him peek a card, making sure Eve does not see it; hold a break. Glimpse the selected card. The rubber band doesn’t interfere with the break and makes the peek easier, because the deck squares itself. Spread through the deck, find the peeked card, and “produce” it in some magical fashion (or just cut to it). Now ask Eve to guess what card Adam is thinking thinkin g of. of. I f she’s right, right, it’s a miracle (but (but read the the interview — most m agi cians play this lucky break very poorly). If not, show the card you removed, veri ve rify fyin ing g that th at you yo u read A da m ’s m ind. ind . While Wh ile this thi s m iracl ira clee is sin king ki ng in, cull cul l the card Eve named, palm it out, and produce it from your wallet. Don’t let the rudimentary nature of this description fool you. Remember: This is the trick Jon uses to open paid shows, which is often. I sat down with Jon in the Magic Castle library to talk about this trick, and how it reflects Jon’s philosophy of scripting and performing magic.

SCRIPT SCRIPTING ING MAGI MAGIC C I 131

Pete In this book, I want to communi cate the many ways in which you can use sc riptin g. I think the re’s an unfortunate stereoty pe that script ing means writing a story in which the Joke rs are the de tectiv es— and before I forget, I want you to do the trick wh ere the Castle Board of Directors are the detectives. Jon I can’t do that. The walls have ears. Pete Got it. This w ill all g et cut out later. In any event, I want to show peo ple that anybody can use script ing, even if you hate tricks where the Jokers are the detectives. Jo n Wor ki ng as a p ro fe ssio n a l ca rd only magician for the last seven teen years... Pete How old are you? Jo n I’m thirty-two. Pete So more than half your life, now. Jo n Well, I w ou ld s a y th e firs t three yea rs, w h en I w a s st il l living at home with my parents, I wasn’t making a major living. Pete (laughs) But working professionally.


Jon I really was. I had a restaurant thing, and I was lucky I grew up in Orlando, so I had a theme park gig. I wa s a little lu ckie r than mo st, because most people don’t have theme parks in their back yard. I grew up with them. I view most story magic as a wall that happens between the audience and the per former. That wall is not a negative w h en y o u ’r e on stage, b ec au se people expect the performer on stage to have an air that they’re performing for you. Pete They’re in a separate world than yo u are . Jo n Exactly. They’re on stage, in light, y o u ’re in th e a ud ien ce, in the dark. But that wall shouldn’t be there in close-up magic, which is sup posed to be engaging. So to talk at somebody, I think puts the au dience off ease, as opposed to at ease with wh at’s going on. Because y o u ’re spe a k in g at them , and th ey know you’re speaking at them with a sto ry that is re h e arse d , and they’re being told something that others have been told, and they become a number in their mind, the experience does not seem as unique or original. Pete Their part in the show is in the great chorus, without a real name.

Jon And I think th at’s te rrib le. I think the best thing about close up mag ic is that it breaks down barriers, and it draws people in and gives them a feeling that something is happening, an experience. And to, by rote, tell them something that’s obviously a story, you lose some thing there. I’ve never enjoyed that. There are exceptions. But it takes the right type of performer, wh o has alr eady engaged the au dience, has already made a direct connection where they feel that you ’re doin g th is fo r them . And then, hey, just like you are talking to your friends, you know, a week ago, this thing happened, let me tell you about it. And then I think you ’re allow ed that. But to star t out with a story trick, and then another story trick, and another, then you’re performing at your audience, and not for them. Pete But you don’t have to use script ing just to tell stories. Jo n Right. Scripting can seem organic, it can give a deeper meaning to what is go in g on. But with a lot of story magic, the audience can tell that there’s a loss of connection with the perform er. Pete That can happen with any trick if you’re just reciting memorized patter. Even if you’re doing the patter that came with the trick, if you perform it like you memo rized it, that’s a wall. It doesn’t

have to be a story trick—even if yo u ’re ju st narrating the actions, like so many magicians do, there’s still a wall. The person is not en gaged with you. If they suddenly turned into a mirror, you would ju st kee p going. Jo n True. But it’s much easier to know that you’re being performed at when y o u ’re bein g told a story . Pete At le ast narrative patter is abou t w hat’s actu ally happenin g at the time. Jo n Exactly. Pete So what do you do to draw your audiences in? Jo n My goal is to really make them believe that this is the first time I have ever done this. Pete Rafael Benatar said that he often instructs his music students to perform a piece as though you were m ak in g it up as you go. Jo n I want everything I do to seem as though... I’m demonstrating this, I obviously have skills, which I’ve practiced, but as far as what I’m saying, how I’m saying it, why I’m saying it, that all happens in the moment. With me it all depends on many factors. I’ve never ac-


tually sat down and written out any of this. With me it has always been like a flowchart; a multiple answer progression thing. There were th es e books when I was a kid called choose your own adven ture, and you’d get to a part and it would say “Do you turn right or left? Turn to page 75 or 76 .” Pete This is before the days of comput ers, I’m guessing. Jo n (nodding) That to me has always been a way to make things seem more organic. You genuinely re spond to their responses. Pete You ha ve to. Jo n I hate with a passion when the ma gician asks an audience member, or the audience as a whole, a qu es tion, and then runs through any way, no matter what the answ er is. Alm ost not even list enin g to the answer. I hate that, because that totally tells the audience the m agi cian doesn’t care what they think.

John Lovick pipes in from the cheap seats. Jo hn Lovick What if you don’t care? Jo n Well then that’s yo ur act.

Lovick sets off a flash pot and disappears.

Jon The point is that with scripting, to me, it’s alway s been like an organic script. I never say the same thing, hard and fast. Even the lines that I say every time, I’ll say them in a different way. There’s a line that I say where I stick a card on my forehead. And I say, “That’s not a trick, that’s just spit.” And the cen tral information I’m trying to get across is, by the way that’s not a trick, that’s just spit. See? I’ve just changed it again. Sometimes I’ll say, “Oh, that’s not a trick, (points) Spit.” And I always change it a little bit each show. Because that w ay I’m sayin g it lik e it ’s new, like I’m just coming up with it. And it keeps the line fresh. That’s one w ay I keep my scrip ts org anic. And then actually genuinely respond ing, and making my act such that, yes, I’m going to do this trick, an d it’s going to go from point A to point Z, but all of the midpoints, how that’s going to happen, are always going to change per show. Because I don’t know what reac tions I’m going to get, I don’t know what I’m goin g to say. Pete A lot of m agicia ns, whe n th ey bring someone up from the audi ence, that person just watches, ex cept they’re watching really close. Th ey ’re not doing anything, they ’re ju st sitting th ere watc hin g. When Rafael Benatar brings someone up from the audience, the trick is all about the interaction between him and the spectator. There’s no room for a big story, because the inter action fills the trick completely.

It r ra lly force s you to eng age the

spectator.

they ’re incre dibly smart, and I’m not as sm art as they are.

Pete Jo n I try to move even one step fur An d if th ey say.. . what w ould be lower than magician? ther f rom that. What the au die nc e member does will affect what I Jo n d o so much that if you watch my •how four times in a row, the show If they say... wi ll be different. Little differences, Pete and Jon try to think of biKXer differences, but different. Alw ays. W hatever th ey say, w hat something lower than magician. ever they do, that becomes inte grated into what I do. Because I Pete ...that they are confined to a men w a n t it to be real. tal hospital. Pete Jo n It’s kind of like you’re doing an Improv routine, where the audi (laughs) Yes. Or, let’s say th ey w ork ence calls out what your job is, ex in computers—then I have no idea what th ey’re cept here it’s not talking about, so obvious that That wall they’re just talk making they’re shouldn't be there ing gibberish. decisions. You It’s beyond me. Ket started, and in close-up magic, Some people I w hatever th ey which is supposed would re vere . say, you’re go to be engaging. Some people I ing to go with would cast as that, even if they don’t know that they’re determin an antagonist, this person is try ing to mess me up. Like a cop, or ing the show. a lawyer—a lawyer is an excellent Jo n villa in . Right. And unlike an improv per Pete s o n who really does co m e up with things off the top of their head, As is oft en the case in life it self. I then take this inform ation and Jo n input it into all the different sce narios that I have for my act. For And th ey pla y alo ng, an d you mak e example, if I say what do you do your referen ces based on th at. For example, in my opening trick, two f o r a living, and they say they’re people are involved, and I say a doctor, this person is obvious to the man: I want you to shuffle ly smarter than my character. So the cards and put a rubber band I’m going to treat this person like around the deck. And that’s the

first situation: does he do it grace fully? Does he do it sloppily? And from that particular bit of stimuli, I make my comments accordingly.

the rubber band around the deck, I say I want you to tell me when to say stop, look at a card, and the entire time I’m focusing my atten tion and my eyes at his girlfriend. Pete An d there’s a m ajo r section of the You hav e a bank o f co m m en ts to script here which depends entire pick from. ly on what she does. She could be ve ry much into me, sh e co uld be Jo n playing flirty, or, she could be the I alw ays have a bank, and what will opposite. She could be extremely fit with this character that I’ve put uncomfortable. And then I have the spectator in. But I hate I hate I to judge every single response hate I hate, again, where they’re al that I make, from this. And play w ays go ing to say the same line. A with it at that point. T here’s a line guy will take the that I say, which deck of cards, needs a legiti I f you watch my show and gracefully mate response. four times in a row, wra p the rub I say “Is it okay the show will be different. ber band around if I look at you?” it. But yet they Mostly they say Little differences, bigger say “Hey, this is yes. Som etim es differences, but different. the motor skills they say no. And Always. portion of the if they say no I program.” No! have to take that The guy just made you look like response. I can’t just go “No come a moron, because he did it grace on, seriously, look at me.” So if fully, and you say your line, which they say no, I might say “Oh, I re makes no sense. alize my masculinity is a little too much for you.” I play that kind of Pete stuff. But most peo ple s ay ye s, and I’ve always thought that anybody then I say, “Do you like it?” Which w hose com edy is based on puttin g gets a laugh. down the audience will fail if the audience turns out to be better Pete than the magician is. You only ha ve that line if th ey say yes. Jo n And eve n if it’s not a put down, if Jo n anything doesn’t jell with what ac Exactly. tually happened, I always feel the audience knows it. At that point Pete they’ve been jarred out of reality, This is where a lot of performers and they know they’re in a show. So make a mistake—they have a line the person shuffles the cards, puts they like, because it gets a laugh,


and they say it even when it’s not appropriate. And it doesn’t get a laugh those times anyway, be cause it’s only funny if the woman reacts a certain way. But they’re not willing to give up their great line for the few spectators who aren’t comfortable with it. Jon Exactly. Plus at this point in the routine, you’ve established that they’re going to respond. They responded to the first request, so they’re going to respond to this one. At that point, they either creep away, or they get into me. Now I have limited their respons es to two choices. Pete Fight or flight.

don’t press it on her, I get creeped out by the situation as well. What ever emotion she feels, I feel. Pete So you make her do something, and then you do what she does. You pu t her in co ntr ol of the sit u  ation, even though she doesn’t re alize it. Jo n That way she doesn’t feel like I am imposing myself upon her in some weird way. Pete You pu t her in contr ol, bu t sh e’s only got one decision to make, and there are only two choices. It’s not like you’ve given up control com pletely, and who knows what she’s going to do.

Jo n Jo n Very rarely do I get the sto ne So, the man peeks the card, I ask faced thing. They’re going to react in some way. If she leans back, the the person “would you be so kind reaction will be something like as to shuffle the ca rd s,” they sh uffle “You should ask my husband,” or the cards, and then I say, “Now if I boyfriend, or whatever. And my w as to tell you sir, what you r ca rd response to that usually is, I look w as , w ould you be im p ressed ?” at the guy and I go, “I could take And I listen to his response. If he says “No,” I say “Well, if that won’t him.” impress you, I won’t tell you the card — sh e w ill.” If he sa ys “Yes ,” I Pete Th at’s a great line, becau se the rea  say “Why that’s great—I like you, sir. You know what—because I son it’s funny is your character. like you so much, I’m not gonna tell you the card. She’s gonna tell Jo n Or, if she says yes, she does like you the card .” So I take the per it, then she gets all flirty with me, son’s response, and I respond to that, but we end up back where I and I get all flirty back with her. So that makes sense. Or, she gets a wan t to be. little creeped out. And then, I want her to feel good about this, so I

Pete Ju st a sin gle split, and then col lapse back.

Jon Exactly. Now let me tell you what happens most of the time. Most of the time I have this card on my forehead, and I have been playing up to this moment like the woman is going to name the peeked card. So she says “The Three of Clubs,” and I say “Yes or no, sir, was your card the Three of Clubs?” And I ask him a question that he can answer only yes or no. I don’t want him to say “It was the Six of Diamonds.” So he says “No.” I pause, like I have no idea what I’m doing. And I look over to the woman and say “Sorry lady, you’re wrong.”

Jo n Now I take the man’s card out of the deck and put it on my head, that’s the whole spit thing we w ere ta lk ing about earlier. Then I say “Please be so kind as to name the card this gentlemen is think ing of.” She guesses the Three of Clubs, I look at him, and here’s the big moment. There’s a 1 in 52 chance that this is right. There’s a 1 in 52 chance that I’ve hit the mir acle of miracles. And I play every single moment up to this question like it always works, every single Pete time. And I do that for two rea An d that kills. sons. Because if it does work, I’m Jo n not surprised. I’m not caught off guard. They know you got lucky. Because I have played it up to No matter what you think, laymen that moment as if it were going to know that sometimes you just get work. lucky. Pete Pete Without that, it w ould n’t be fu n That’s their first thought in a trick ny. like this: You got lucky. Jo n Jo n So if she gets the card, it makes Most magicians never think about sense, and if she doesn’t, it makes what to do if the specta to r gets it sense. Now at this point, I say right. They figure that since it’s “What was your card sir?” And he says it’s the Ace of Diamonds. And a real miracle, they don’t have to I say “that’s amazing sir, because dress it up. Not true. I have the Ace of Diamonds right here, on my head. Ta da, thank Pete The audience can’t tell the differ you. (pause) You know I fe el pret ence between a real miracle and ty bad about you, there, Mary. Be cause you did name a card, I don’t one you’ve created. You have to wan t you to th ink I’m m ak ing fu n dramatize them both the same. of you. But here’s the thing. You thought this whole thing was the


( ard on-th e-Fore head trick. But It wasn’t. It was actually a clever ruse. See, before I even came out here, I took a card out of the deck and put it here in my wallet. Then I zipped my wallet up here on three sides. Inside my wallet happens to be a card. You could have named tiny card you wanted to. But you could n’t— heh heh, no. Because this whole time, you have been my little puppet. Doing exactly what I wan te d you to do. And that’s why yo u nam ed the card that I have in here, the Three of Clubs.”

I know exa ctly what you w ere go  ing to do. That’s why there’s two cards here,” and I draw the back card down into view. And that kills. I almost want them to say the Ace of Spades, so that I can get the two card reaction, because that destroys them. Pete You could say that no matter what card they say. “Six of Diamonds? There’s a whole book of tricks us ing the Six of Diamonds...” Jo n You co uld do that. Again, th at’s all the variables that this trick could have.

That’s the content. But that also ends in different ways, too. It used to be, when I ask this person to name a card, sometimes they say Pete the Ace of Spades or the Queen of Hearts. And I can’t say “no, get Exactly. If you wanted to try some thing like that, the structure al another card.” Because that tips off^he ending. So I made the end lows for that. ing modular. Here’s what I do. Jo n They say “Queen of Hearts,” I say “You know, a lot of people name One time, the spectator said Ace of Spades, then the Queen of Hearts, the Queen of Hearts. Give me a hard one.” They name the Three and then a different card, and of Clubs, and then changed to a fourth card. now, as I’m go Most magicians never ing through the And as I’m go think about what to do ing through the deck, I’m actu spectator-shuf ally culling the i f the spectator gets it right. fled deck, the cards. And now They figure that since it's a Ace o f Spades I cull both the real miracle they dont and Queen of Queen of Hearts Hearts are one and the Three of have to dress it up. two on top. I Clubs from the Not true. culled the other deck, and load two cards, I’m them into the wallet. An d now, when I unzip the done, and they all go into the wal wallet, I pull out the two card s as let. “And this entire time you’ve one. And I say “This whole time been my little puppet. That’s why y ou ’ve been my little puppet. And there’s not just one card here,

,


there’s one, two, three, four.” And they all ins tan tly knew what was coming. That was awesome.

I may sa y "And as su pe r pow ers go, that’s pretty lam e.” If they get that...

Pete And you d evelo p ed th is stru ctu re not by writing it down in advance but by performing the trick thou sands of times.

Pete When I sa w you in the Close -u p Room they got that.

Jo n Thousands and thousands of times. I was the resident magi cian at Epcot. Basically I would get there around 4:30 in the af ternoon, and leave at around 9:30 at night, and I spent the en tire time doing card tricks.

Jo n “As super powers go, that’s pret ty lame, (pause) That’s Aquaman lame.” That’s the last one. Now I never go past that. Sometimes the audience will laugh on that last line, and I don’t think they even get it, but they’re reacting to the geeky character.

Pete The last part of this organic sc ript The right timing, and character, ing is what I call knowing when to and rhythm of a line, can make shut up. There’s something fun a moment at the ny even if you’re The last par t of this end, after I’ve re saying non veale d the w om  sense syllables. organic scripting an’s card in my I mean, it’s fun is what I call wallet, wher e I nier if it means knowing when to shut up. say “That’s right, something, but I can make wom it can still be en do whatever I want.” And there funny even without any meaning, are four parts to this. The first part ju st with the righ t tim in g, chara c is: “I can make women do whatev ter... the right setup, mostly. er I want.” And sometimes there’s a laugh right there, but sometimes Jo n it isn’t immediate. The second line And th at’s me. I’m a co mic book is “...as long as it’s naming a card.” guy. I’m really into the stuff. To Now the timing depends on how me, that’s my favorite line in the the audience responds to the first show. line. If they’re all over the first line, I’ll wait for the laugh to dis Pete sipate, which makes the second Of co u rse — it’s the only line that’s line play. But if there is not a big completely you. It’s not doing any laugh on the first line, the second thing other than expressing your line hits immediately. Depending ch ara cter— it’s not starting a trick, on the reaction to the second line,

or covering a move, or anything related to the trick. Jo n Brad Henderson would call that an aesthetic line. And it is. It’s a purely aesthetic line. Brad always makes fun of me because I pur posely put in, into everything that I do, um s, stamm ers, and pau ses. Because I want them to think that this is the first time I’ve ever said this, and that I’m awkward, and I’m nervous, and I don’t have good stage presence. And that’s all part of the character. Now it doesn’t stay that way all the time. Because that would get really awful to watch . Pete Ned Flanders says “I like Woody Alle n m ovie s, ex cept fo r that ner vous fe lla th at’s alw ays in th em .” You pla y a great ch aracter, because people can immediately identify it and relate to it. But twenty min utes of concentrated interaction with th at ch ara cter— without that wall we were talking ab o u t— can be a lot. Jo n So the character eventually gets to the point where he calms down. Pete If you start off nervous, and ten minutes into the show the audi ence can sense you calming down, they will feel friendly toward you, because they can tell that you’re feeling friendly toward them. That builds the relationship.

Jon That’s the idea behind it. There are peaks and valleys with the charac ter. It’s not like I am high-energy, crazy manic guy the entire time. Pete Final question I ask everybody: If I were just starting to learn how to use scripting to make my mag ic better, what advice would you give me? Jo n Listen to the audience. Pete Not just when you ask them ques tions... Jo n Listen to them always . I have sto  len from my audiences for the last fifteen years. My audiences have said the funniest things, the most poignant things, made the best points. They have truly written a lot of my act. Because I’ve listened to what they said—I’m not talk ing about feedback, or notes after a show—but what they are doing right in the middle. The whole su perhero line came from a guy after a show who said “So, you’re like the Don Juan of women, but just for card tricks.” And from that I got the idea that I could control wom en, and I started thinking about all the ways that would make sense. And th at becam e “I can make w om  en do anything I want... as long as it’s card tricks.” And that’s where it came from—somebody actually said that.

SCRIPTING MAGIC | M i

Pete So what you’re saying is, if you wan t to scri pt you r act, you don’t even have to script it you rself. Jus t listen to the audience, and they’ll script it for you. Jo n (laughs) I think you’re being a lit tle literal there, Pete. But serious ly. Take a framework that works, and talk to the audience, and most importantly, listen to them.

The End

Even i f you were doing everything by real magic , you would still have to stage it. I f you were able to actually make an elephant disappear by the touch o f a wand, people might still remain indijferent if you dont stage it properly.

Henning Nelms SCRIPTING MAGIC | 142

My Opening Act by Jon Armstrong

Scripting for Effect

ne of the biggest benefits of scripting your magic is that it can make the effect much clearer. And not just to your audience; to you as well. Alth ough some tricks benefit from an understated approach, in which you let your audience fill in the details them  selves, there's little doubt that to present any magic effect clearly, you have to have a clear idea in your mind, at least, o f what you are presenting. Let's take the simplest example: I place a coin in my hand and open it a second later to show that the coin is gone. The question is: what happened to the coin? At a recent lecture, the wonderfully creative Tom Stone asked this exact question to a room full of magicians, and received a room full of different answers. One said the coin was destroyed, so that now it no longer existed. Another said it was made invisible, so you just can’t see it. A third said it transported to another place, so the coin itself is unchanged but only its location has been altered. Another said the coin had been absorbed into the magician’s skin. No one said he had hypnotized your mind, so you can’t see the coin anymore, but that’s another perfectly good answer. As Tom pointed out, this great variety o f effects makes a bit o f a mockery of Dariel Fitzkee’s list of 17 basic magic effects. There may be only 17 impossible things you can do, but there are an infinite variety of effects you can create. What you say when you perform the trick changes how the audience inter prets what they see. The next four scripts take this idea to progressively greater heights, in wh ich the script creates an effect that you do not actually perform. We get an inkling o f this technique in m y version o f “Triump h,” in which the script is part of the method, turning a standard color change into an impossible reverse. But the idea is taken to the limit by David Regal, Paul Green, and Kenton Knepper, in which the script is the method. In these three pieces, you do nothing magical whatsoever, but the scripts make the audience think that miracles have oc curred. This is an incredibly powerful tool for concealing methods and mak ing magic seem really impossible. I f the audience isn’t correctly interpreting what actually happened, they’re obviously not going to be able to tell how you made it happen. It also makes possible some effects that can’t be created any other way, as you will soon see.


■■...r'| his is one of my favorite personal examples o f scripting for effect. At the climax, you do a standard color change. But the audience sees a face-down card turn face up. By adding this idea to the clas-

JL .

sic Triumph plot, you get a bonus magical moment that both ex

tends and greatly enhances the primary effect of the righting of the deck. This approach also makes the magical effect clearer and more specific, or in other words, more real. Here's how it works: First, you have a card selected and returned to the deck, and shuffle h al f face up into ha lf face down; in reality, the deck is all face up except two face-down cards: the selection in the middle and an indifferent card on top (we'll see how you arrive at this position in a minute). Now you do the Erdnase/Houdini color change, which secretly replaces the top, face-down card o f the deck with the second, face-up card. The effect, created by the words you say in combination with the move, is that you have turned the top card face up simply by waving your hand over it. You now spread the deck to show that all the cards turned face up, except for on e— the selection. Th is is a great triple climax. First, you get a visual shock of the card turn ing face up, then a mind-bending realization when the entire deck turned face up, and the selection is the perfect climax. This apparent result is so very far from the physical actions you take that it seems supernatural. I use a similar idea in my Ambitious Card routine. For the second-to-last phase, I insert the card face up in the deck, but I really put it second via tilt. Then I do the color change, but because of the script the effect becomes the card risin g through the deck. I f you do the ambitious card and this color change, try th is— you'll like it.

The Greatest Opening Line of the 20th Century I struggled with the opening line o f this script for a while. The basic script is very narrative. It doesn't literally narrate the actions, it comments on them. But there's no larger story or deeper meaning; you're showing the audience a trick. You can add anything you like to it; the scripting technique of changing the effect can be used with any style you like. Just don't be limited by the rela tive simpleness of my particular example. I started using Eugene Burger’s line: “How would you like to see the great est card trick of the 20th century?” When I first learned this, it was still the 20th century, and when the 21st century began I changed the line to match. But one time, in 2003 , 1 said 20th century by mistake. A spectator said “ Don’t


yo u m ean 21st?” And I im m ed ia te ly replie d that be ca use the 21 st Cen tu ry was

only a few years old, the best card trick so far is not nearly as good as the best card trick of the previous hundred years. I liked this so much that I now say “20th century” every time. Aside from inciting interest before the trick starts, it gave me a great last line that transitions into the next trick. An entire act could be structured around this simp le p rem ise— the best card trick o f the 18th century, then the 19th, 20th, 21st, etc.

Handling Don’t overlook the Triumph handling explained in the Notes section. I worked it out about five years ago and it has proven very effective. It’s very clean, not that hard, completely in-the-hands, and looks very magical and sur prising. This is a great trick to have as the one trick you can do if someone hands you any deck. And even if you don’t like the script or the handling, i f you do the Erdnase First Transform ation, Two Hands, (which I am told was actually created by Harry Houdini), or if you’ve always wanted to do it, do not miss the section in the notes for a tip that makes this move easier, more reli able, more flexible, and better looking.

All the Card s Turn Face Up by Pete McCabe -Living Room — Evening

Int

spreads a deck of cards between his hands and offers one Alex.

Pete to

Pete Would you like to see the greatest card trick of the 20th century? Alex Sure. But isn’t this the 21st century? Pete Yes. But the 21st century is only a few years old. The best card trick of the last seven years isn’t as good as the best from a hundred years before. Take any card you like, show it around. I won’t look. Alt x takes the card and memorizes it. Pete Now, I’m gonna put your card, not in the middle, but in the middle of the bottom half. I’ete puts the card back a quarter of the way up from the bottom. Pete Because I’m going to turn the top half face up, and I don’t want to see your card. Pete turns the top half of the deck face up. Pete Some magicians can shuffle the cards in tricky ways, so I’m just gonna mush them together, but you can see, the face up and face down cards are really mixed.

Pete smushes the cards together, then cuts the cards several times, showing face up and face down cards. Pete I’m going to wave my hand over the top card of the deck, which is face down, and when I do... it turns face up. Pete waves his hand over the deck and the top card turns face up. Pete And not just the top card—all the cards turn face up. Pete spreads the cards—they are all face up. Pete Except for one... One face-down card remains in the face-up spread. Pete ...which is your chosen card. Pete tur ns over the face do wn card to reveal the sp ec tat or ’s selection. Pete And that is the greatest card trick of the 20th century. (pause) Here, I’ll show you the greatest card trick of the 21st century. Or would you like to see the gre ates t card trick of the 19th century instead?

The End


Notes on All the Cards Turn Face Up One thing I like about this is how the script justifies the exact handling rrcjuired. There's a moment where you have to cut the deck at the right spot, and the script motivates your being careful, without making that seem like

part of the m ethod — in fact, it makes it sound like something you’re doing to br extra fair. This script also perfectly motivates the first part o f the double ac tion required to do the Erdnase transformation. As you say “I’m going to wave my hand over the top card...” you do part one of the move, where you secretly

out jog the top card. Then you say, as if it were just a casual reminder "...which is face down,” and that’s when you draw the right hand back, apparently to •how the top card, but secretly to draw the second card out.

Method Start with any shuffled deck. Spread the cards for a selection, and then break the spread at the selected card. As you close up the deck, turn the left hand h alf face up as you close u p the right hand spread on top of it. This is the spread ha lf pass, a very underutilized move. I think it’s by far the easiest and best-covered way to do a half pass. In this case, as you close the deck you turn to your left, so you don’t see the spectator’s card, and your right hand naturally and completely covers the move. The most important thing is not to care at all.

Don’t pay any attention. (This means, by the way, that you need to practice the move until you can do it without paying attention.) You don’t need to worry: the spectators are either looking at the card, or looking at your eyes, to make sure you aren’t looking at the card. Nobody cares about the deck. The only time your attention should return to the deck is after you have taken back their card and are inserting it into the deck.

Take the selected card and insert it, face down, about a quarter of the way from the bottom, as per the script. Now you need to pick up all but one o f the face-down cards. What I do is lift up at the natural break with my thumb, then drop one card off. It’ s okay to look at the deck here, since you are openly trying to make sure that you cut the deck above Alex’s card. Turn the cut-off cards face up and shuffle them, faro style, into the face down cards. However don’t do an actual faro shu ffle— just mush the cards together. Make sure the face down card atop the left hand h alf ends up on top. Now you’re ready. The spectators think you are holding a deck that’s mixed face-up and face-down. In reality 50 cards are face up, with the face down selection in the middle and indifferent card on top. At this point you cut the cards several times (don’t complete the cut, just put the cut-off half back each


time), showing some cards face up and some face down. During this, you can cut to the face down selection any time, using the natural back-to-back break above that card. But if that doesn't w ork for you, just hold a break. At this point all you have to do is turn the top card face up and then spread to show that all the cards are face up, except for one, which is the selection. This is a common position in Triumph handlings, and there are a variety of interesting scripting solutions to the problem of reversing that card. Eugene Burger openly turns the top card over, as though this exerted a voodoo-like effect on the rest of the face down cards. I use the Erdnase Transformation, First Method, Two Hands. This is originally a color change, done to change one face up card into another. But one day it occurred to me that if you did that same move here, you would change the face down card into a face up card. In this context, and with a little bit of scripting magic, I could make the audience interpret this as a card turning face up. This magic moment would resonate, and then expand when the audience realized that all the cards turned face up, which they would then interpret had happened at the same time that they "saw” the top card turn face up.

Erdnase First Transformation, Two Hands I f you don't already do this move, this book is not really going to be the best place to learn it. Card College and Carneycopia both have great descriptions, and apparently it's in Erdnase. (Who knew?) However, for completeness sake, we'll start w ith a basic description o f the original move. Hold the deck in dealing position in your left hand. Pass your right hand over the top of the deck, moving away from you; the pad of the pinky touches the top card and outjogs it for about half its length (this happens secretly; the right hand covers the outjogged card). Now the right hand pulls back, reveal ing the top car d— it looks as if nothing has h appened yet. But as the right hand pulls back, the heel of the hand pulls the second card back toward you, until it clears the top card (you'll feel a tiny click). Now slide the second card forward over the top card, at the same time as your left first finger pulls the (formerly) top card back flush with the deck. Lift the right hand , revealing the transformation. One o f the most common difficulties that arises when lear ning this move is trouble outjogging the top card with the pad of your pinky in a way that looks natural and works cleanly and consistently. Often the top card will drag the second card with it; in this routine that's not a problem, but in some others it's a disaster. One day I stumbled on the following finesse that completely solves the out-

jo k in g problem, and open s up new ap plications fo r the move as well.

Get a Greek break, or Altman Trap, under the top card before you start. If you're not familiar with the Greek break, hold a deck in dealing position and

yet the flesh of the base of your thumb under the inner left corner of the top i .11 cl. Do this secretly, by the way. The card is flush with the deck on the far and ri^ht sides, which are the only ones visible. The break at the near left corner is perfectly hidden. This tiny change makes ou tjogging the top card a breeze. Instead of press ing down with your right pinky, you catch the raised inner end of the card with the heel o f your hand, which carries it forward. No friction is required, and the fingers of the right hand can be completely relaxed, waving about in a magical w ay— whatever you like. Best o f all, you can’t m iss and accidentally push either two or no cards forward. Unless you want to. I f you get your Greek break unde r two cards, the same change can bring up the third from top card— or fourth, fifth, etc. The break makes pu shing o ff the right num ber o f cards dead certain, and opens up a world o f new applications o f this move.

The Ja y Sa nk ey Interlude After I came up with this I used it for a couple o f years and it proved invalu able. I wrote it up and sent it to Jay Sankey, who is the most prolific use r o f the Hr&nase/Houdini change of anyone I know, and he said he hadn’t seen anyone do it that way. I felt pretty good. It’s not every day you can come up with a fi nesse on a hundred-year-old standard move. Then one day recently I was at the Magic Castle library, and on a whim I put on Jay’s “45” video, which is the only magic video I’ve ever seen that is com pletely cross-cultural. Th ere’s no lan guage— nothing is said or written on the screen, nothing. It’s a testament to the power of Jay’s direct, visual magic. Suddenly I see Jay doing the Erdnase/Houdini change with a Greek break. I was utterly baffled — I certainly didn’t believe Jay would ever steal my idea, but he was doing the move I had sent him, whic h he hadn’t heard of. I checked the date of my email, and it turns out “45” came out before I sent it to him! My email, it turns out, was confusing enough to cause Jay to disavow the move he had pu blished just the year before. The real prob lem was that I focused on how the Greek break makes the move easier and more certain. Jay is one of the world’s foremost exponents o f this move. He doesn’t need any technique to make it easier or more certain. Jay, I’m sure, was more interested in the pos sibilities of being able to bring up the 3rd card. In any event, Jay certainly gets first credit for this idea, which he generously agreed to let me include.

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 1S 1

An Expansive Moment After the top card turns face up, spread through the deck to show all the cards face up. Push off the first three or four cards as one, keeping the face down card in second position from showing. When you get to the face down card, outjog it and keep spreading until you have shown the whole deck. This is a great moment. The visual effect of the card turning face up is striking, and when the audience realizes that the entire deck was affected, the magical moment expands in a wonderful way. Now turn the outjogged card face up to show the selection.

Glean Up The trick is over. The audience is applauding, the crowned heads of Europe are amazed and amused. Take the selection and drop it face up on top o f the deck. Now take the top two cards and turn them face down. As you do, you notice that something’s not quite right— it’s no big deal. Turn the top three cards face up, which fixes the problem . Done. Just don’t pay any attention to it and your audience won’t either.

Adaptation Here’s the ambitious application o f the Erdnase transform ation — the one that first lead me to the Greek break. Get a Tilt break under the top card, and insert the amb itious card face up into the break. Square up but don’t drop the tilt break. Now do the transformation, using the tilt break to make it easier. This produces a visual rise that makes an extremely effective phase in any ambitious card routine.

References The Erdnase Transformation, First Method, Two Hands is from The Expert at the Card Table, by S.W. Erdnase. Eugene Burger’s line about the greatest card trick is discussed in his essay “Creating Interest” in Intimate Power , which is included in Mastering the Art o f Magic, Kaufman and Company, 2000. Carneycopia by Stephen Minch, L&L Publishing, 1991. Jay Sankey’s “4 5” DVD, produced by Sankey Magic, is copyright 2003. My email to Jay is copyright 2004.

SCRIPTING MAGIC I 1S2

The Trick that Fooled Einstein

his trick, which is as old as the hills and almost as old as the val leys, is one of the all-time examples of script-as-method. Nothing impossible happens. Nothing unlikely or even unusual happens. What happens is this: You tell the spectators that you have $2.54 in change in your pocket, and then you count it out to prove that you do, indeed, have $2.54 in change in your pocket. Ta da! Of course, you don’t actually say "I have $2.54 in change in my pocket.” You say it in such a w ay that this simple statem ent o f fact is interpreted as a magical divination of a truly random number. And yet, Al Koran performed this trick for none other than Albert Einstein, and fooled him completely. So I think you can say that this is a good exam ple o f the power o f scripting, i f it lets you take a sim ple math ematical trick and fool Einstein. Paul Green graciously contributed his script for this classic trick, which he uses to make a very nice living as a professional magician. Paul works corpo rate and private parties and was nominated for 20 05 Close-Up M agician o f the Year at Th e Magic Castle. Most magicians know Paul through his DVD on the Classic Force, and from his In the Trenches DVD series. Paul’s inspiration was Barrie Richardson’s version of this trick in Theater of the Mind, which you should read. Thanks to Paul and Barrie.

Grandma’s Purse by Paul Green Int—Corporate Party—Day Paul is working Alex’s table. Paul proudly displays a small change purse. Paul This is from my Grandma. She told me if I carried it, I would always have a great trick to share. Paul shakes the purse; the coins jingle. He turns to Alex. Paul Do you have any change in your pocket? Bring it out and hold it in your hand. Alex digs o ut a han dfu l of change. Paul Please extend your fingers. Paul tou che s Alex’s ext end ed fingers fo r a mome nt. Th en he picks up th e purse and weig hs it in his hand . Paul In just a moment, I am going to tell you three things. Two of these things will mean nothing, but the third statement is impossible! First, I have as much money as you have. Second, I have as much as you, and I have twelve cents more than you do. Finally, I have as much as you, I have twelve cents more, and my leftovers combined with your random amount of change will make exactly... Paul shakes Alex’s hand and listens to the change rattle. Paul ...two dollars and forty-two cents.


Paul tips the coins from the purse onto the table.

Paul How much do you have? Alex counts. Alex A dollar thirty-five. Paul A dollar thirty-five. I told you that I would have the same amount as you, but that means nothing as I have a lot of change here. Paul counts a dollar thirty-five from his pile on the table back into the purse. Paul I told you that I would have twelve cents more. Paul counts another twelve cents from the table into the purse. Paul This means nothing as I have a lot of change. Paul scoops up the rest of his pile. Paul I told you that the last thing I said would be im possible—I told you that my leftovers... Paul shakes the change in his hand. Paul ...mixed with your random total... Paul tak es the sp ec ta to r’s change and a dd s it into his hand. Paul ...would make exactly $2.42!

Paul starts counting, building the pace until he reach $2.00, then slowing down until he drops the final coin onto the table as he says, triumphantly: Paul Two forty two! Applause. Paul I guess Grandma was right about the trick. It was worth everything I paid her!

The End


Notes on Grandma's Purse flu* structure of this script is very interesting. In this trick you make three pmlii tions. The standard approach to this kind of situation is to present the three predictions as increasingly miraculous. What Paul does is deliberately downplay the first two predictions, all the way to nothing. The effect, paradoxi cally, is to heighten and dramatize the final prediction. The ordinariness of tlx* first two predictions reinforces the underlying fairness o f the procedure, wliu h makes the final revelation that much more startling.

One Word Notice Paul’s use of the word “leftovers.” This word makes the trick easier to follow, reduces the sense that math is involved, and reinforces the idea that the* amount remaining in Paul’s hand (after matching Alex’s total) is random. Often a single word will make the difference between a trick that works and a Iru k that sings.

Method The purse has $2.54. That’s pretty much it. In performance, you take away from your purse money to equal the spec tator’s money, then you subtract another 12c, then you add back the specta tor ‘s money, which replaces the money you took out. So no matter how much cha nge the spectator has, the final total is always i2<£ less than w as in the purse. Since 2.54 - 0.12 = 2 .42 , that’s the amount you predict.

Setup Take a small change purse and fill it with $2.54 worth of coins. Make sure u have a good mix of change that includes at least 2 dimes, 1 nickel, and 9 nnies. Otherwise, if Alex has, say, 44C, you won’t be able to remove coins exactly matching Alex’s total, and still remove 12 cents.

erformance Start by asking Alex to bring out his or her change. If necessary, Paul will have several people combine their change. Mostly, Paul talks with Alex about the amount of change. One of the nice things about using change is that you can have a little fun with the spectators without worrying that they’ll take it seriously. For example, i f Alex has no change, you can make a joke about times being hard, etc., and it won’t be seen as a put-down because not having change is not associated with being poor. The rest of the trick works itself by following the script, but you still have to perform it well if you want to get the maxim um effect. In particular, note

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 15 7

the shaking of the money as Paul pretends to be making his “prediction." He stops, right before the final prediction, for one last shake. He doesn't say anything, just stops and gives one last shake before he commits to his predit tion. If you tell people what you are doing, some of them may not believe you. But if you let people figure out what you are doing, they will never question themselves.

Reset O f course this trick resets — Paul is a professional. Count out the specta tor’s share of the money ($1.35 in the script) and return it. Put the rest in the purse.

Adaptation The first question you have to ask yo urself in performing this trick is: How are you doing it? Paul plays it that he is sensing Alex’s total by the touch of his fingers. But you could easily have your three predictions written out in ad vance. You could follow this up with a story about a dream you had last night, etc. But you don’t have to include the dream story— just bringing out the pre diction written down in advance makes this a different effect than listening to Alex shake the coins. Because the underlying principle of this trick is so simple, you can take the presentation in a lot of different ways. One idea that appeals to me is to reen act Al Koran doing the trick for Albert Einstein. The spectator plays Einstein, which is a situation rich with laughs, and I can present a little info about Al Koran. A little research into Einstein and Koran will yield loads of interesting facts you can use to enrich your presentation.

References “The Trick That Fooled Einstein” is from Theater of the Mind by Barrie Rich ardson, 1999. Paul Green is best known for his Classic Force and his In the Trenches DVDs. You know all these three-DVD sets that would be great i f they put the best tricks on one DVD? That’s what In the Trenches is. Koran’s version of this trick is called “Jackpot Coins.” The first appearance o f this ba sic trick in an established magic book is in the 1930s, in Sandu Writes Again by Paul Stadelman.

SCRIPTING MAGIC | IS 8

The Southwest Miracle

I

TT“ enton Knepper has for years been a pioneer in scripting magic.

f

His Wonder Words series opened the doors to many techniques that can be used to make your magic more inexplicable, more effective, and more memorable.

I saw Kenton do this trick at the A-i Convention at the Capital many years and I was one of a room full of magicians who were utterly baffled by it.

And once I learned how it was done, I was even m ore impressed. It’s just a fan tastic demonstration o f what scripting can do. There really isn’t a trick— just a script that creates a deep sense o f wonder and mystery. I was very pleased w h en Kenton agreed to let me include this script. What better example of the

power of scripting could there be than an impenetrable mystery that has no sec ret moves or gaffs? This is the updated version of this script, which appeared on the Desert llrainstorm Series video, Volum e One. So if you know this from Wonder Words, don't miss out on the improvements. Wonder Words has generated m uch controversy in the magic world since its release. This is go od— nothin g revolutionary has ever appeared without vio lent disagreement. (There’s an old saying: If nobody hates what you’re doing, maybe it’s because you’re not doing anything.) Most of the controversy has surrounded the subject of NLP, or neuro-linguistic programming. This is also good— people should subject big ideas to intense scrutiny. But the controversy seems to cause some magicians to miss the point of Wonder Words, which is this: the words you say during your perform ance have a profound effect on how the audience experiences your show, and how they

remem ber it the next day— or week, month, or year. Regardless o f how you feel about NLP, the techniques Kenton teaches — direct, practical, real-world

techniqu es— can make your magic better. So argue about the theoretical as pects o f linguistically program ming someone’s neurons all you want. But if you want to unlock the full power o f scripting your magic, you will definitely want to study Wonder Words.

This is Reality by Kenton Knepper Int — Theater—Evening Kenton stands alone on stage. Kenton A lot of times, when you see a mentalist you see someone who gives you the impression that only we, perhaps, read minds. And of course that isn’t true. You’ve all experienced times in your own lives when you’ve used the very same abilities and powers that we have. So I like to remind people from time to time w ha t’s within the m. And 1he ard t ha t we had a very famous person in the room this evening, who is actually one of the great visualizers in the United States. And so I’m very, very pleased... what is your name again sir? Alex Alex. Kenton Alex! That’s right. Will you please welcome Alex, the great visualizer! Alex joins Kenton on stage. Kenton All right, Alex, in all honesty, we didn’t talk about this in advance, or set anything up ahead of time. Because really, Alex is going to do all the work. (to Alex) They’re not going to believe this. (to everyone) And w ha t’s int er es tin g abo ut this is, it really depends on all of you visualizing as well. I know it sounds a little kooky, but afterward you’re going to ask Alex what


happened, and he will tell you it’s because you visualized it. Now, we’ll use a pack of cards. (to Alex) As a matter of fact, 1want you to do this, so 1don’t touch them or something. Just put your hands behind your back, hold on to the deck, there. And I’ll turn away a little bit. Alex holds the deck behind his back. Kenton Will you just reach inside the case, Alex, and remove just one card. Don’t let me see it. Alex opens the case. Kenton Can you remove just one? Good. And show it to th em , if you would. Make su re I don’t see it. Ale\ brings out a card and shows it. It’s the Three of Clubs. Kenton Got one? Make sure they can see it. And then reverse it, turn it over upside down and stick it back in there somewhere. Alex does so. Kenton Good—then close up the box. Very good. Tell me when you’re finished and you have it all in there. Oh, you’re really working, you’re shuffling them up too? That’s excellent. And you can bring them back out if th ey ’re all sealed up. Alex brings the closed card case from behind his back.

Kenton Now th is is also important, because in a moment you’re really going to do this with visualization, but 1wanted you to check one more thing. Show your left hand empty, if you would. Now, not to be crude, just reach into my pocket. Because I want you to verify—in a moment I’ll need you to reach in there and actually feel the deck of cards being in the pocket instead. All right? So just give it a shot for a second. Just reach in and imagine you feel—I know, but just imagine, don’t do anything, mind you. Alex does so. Kenton Okay, can you kind of get a feel for if the deck were there? Alex nods. Kenton All right, bring your hand out, and show it empty. Alex shows his hands empty. Kenton Good! I don’t want them to think we did anything—yet. Now this is very important. Because now I need you to visualize that the entire deck is actually going to transport itself through space. (to Alex) See, already they’re looking at us kind of odd, Alex. That’s okay—this is the fantasy pa rt. Because what we’re do in g will se t something in your mind so you’ll believe it later. Ready? Alex indicates that he is ready.


Kenton Actually see the cards leaving. Can you see them? Alex nods. Kenton Nothing in th ere. Not hi ng at all. Alex nods. Kenton Excellent. Now imagine the deck really bein g in th e pocket. Excellent. You ready? You see, so far this has all just been visualization. (pause) This is reality. Kenton tears the card case in half and crumples it—the cards are gone! Kenton The deck is gone! Okay, now wait. Show your hand empty, Alex. Alex shows his hands empty. Kenton Reach in the pocket. Go ahead—now, yes—take out what’s in there now. Alex reaches into Kenton’s pocket and removes... a deck of cards! Kenton Yes. Now wait a minute, this is not absolute proof yet. Because you reversed a card, you turned one card upside down. What was the card? Alex The Three of Clubs.


Kenton

There should be one card that sticks out, because it’s re versed. Alex runs through the deck. One card is face out. It’s the Three of Clubs. Kenton And you can tell that Alex actually focused on this card, seriously. Because he di dn ’t focus on any ot her ca rd —the rest are all blank. Kenton shows the rest of the deck—all the cards are blank. Kenton And when you ask him how he does it, he will tell you it was visualization. (to Alex) Isn’t that right? Alex nods. Kenton It was all in your minds. Thank you! Let’s hear it for Alex!

The End


Notes on This is Reality What I love about this trick is that it has no method.

Method lake a card case and put four small slits in the sides with an X-acto knife, so

you c an tear it more easily later. Take the Th ree o f Clubs from the deck and

put it in this case. Take a blank deck, put a duplicate Three of Clubs reversed in the middle, and put that in your pocket. Now perform the script as written. Alex and your audience will have entirely different experiences. Alex will think that it was all just a demonstration of visualization. The audience will think they have witnessed a miracle. When you say "Can you remove just one?” — Alex will think, yep, that’s all I can remove. The audience will think Alex is choosing just one card fro m the deck. (It’s a great idea to track down the Desert Brainstorm video, and pay particular attention to the exact timing, tone, and inflection of this line.) When you tell Alex to reverse it and put it back, to the audience it seems as i f it would only make sense i f there’s a whole deck there. The line about Alex shuffling the cards seems, to Alex, like a joke, but to the audience it strengthens the idea that there’s a full deck in the box.

Improvements The improvements Kenton has added since the original appeared in Wonder Words are instructive. One is the use of a blank deck. This gives an extra cli max, but it also creates an atmosphere of mystery to the moment. Blank cards can shock an audience, in a way that magicians have a hard time understand ing. But the biggest change is the emphasis on visualization. This makes it vir tually impossible for Alex to accidentally give the game away. It creates a situ ation where any reaction by Alex is appropriate to the audience’s reality. And if Alex should realize the false impression all this is giving to the audience, this realization will come quite slowly, by which time Alex has already been cooperating for a while. Kenton follows three principles to keep Alex from giving anything away afterward. First off, he structures the routine so that Alex is the star. Second, he treats Alex well du ring the trick, so Alex will treat him well after. And finally he says "When you ask Alex how he did it, he’ll tell you it was visualization. Isn’t that right?” And Alex nods. Kenton actually gets Alex to agree to keep the secret, as part of his script.

Adaptation This “visualization exercise” hook can be added to many, vastly different tricks. It doesn’t have to be the overall point of the trick; you can throw it in as a subtle convincer very effectively.

References The first version o f this trick appeared in Wonder Words, Volume One; the updated version here is on volume one of the Desert Brainstorm video series. Speaking o f which, Kenton has recently released the complete Wonder Words audio program on CD, giving his fascinating and unique material the highquality, long-lasting, easy-to-access form at it deserves. In fact, as o f this writ ing you can go to www .wonderwizards.com and order the entire set— 3 vol um es on 12 CDs — at a hefty discount. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeat ing here: support the people who create the magic you love. Kenton’s work is among the most ripped-off in all of magic. Don’t buy a rip -off o f his work on eB ay— buy from wonderw izards.com or a reputable dealer.


M

agician’s choic e— or equivoque, as it is also called, with vary ing degrees o f confidence in the pronun ciation— is for most magicians the first piece of scripting they learn. It’s one of

very few mag ical techniques which must, to some extent, be

scripted before you perform it. Much equivoque depends on specific clever wording, which can be inter

preted in two different ways after the fact. For example, I have an orange and a lemon, and I want you to choose the lemon. So I say “Would you choose one for me? ” Now, if you pick the lemon, I say “You chose the lemo n,” as though I had meant “Will you do a favor for me and choose one ?” But if you pick the or ange, I say “You chose the orange for m e,” as i f I had meant “ Will you choose a fruit for me to have?” Either way, you end up with the lemon. Much time and effort have been applied to crafting subtle ways to say natu ral-sounding things that can be reinterpreted in natural-sounding ways later. This obviously works; you can do absolute miracles with nothing more than equivoque. Magician’s choice can be used to increase the impossibility of a bewildering variety of tricks— which fruit a vanished dollar bill will appear in, for example. Most equivoque scripts focus on the selection process, which makes the magic clear but often produces less-than-compelling theater. Tricks that use Magician’s Choice multiple times usually require that the spectator be un aware of the exact nature of the selection process, since the magician needs to be able to change it on the fly. It’s hard to make an effective multiple equi voque process where, when it’s over, the spectator feels that he or she under stood the process the whole time. Obviously it works. Magicians have been using Magician’s Choice for just about as long as there have been magicians and choices. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop there.

Deckuivoque When I was a kid, my sister put a deck o f cards on a table and asked me a series o f questions, fro m color to suit to number, until I finally ended up with the queen o f hearts. Then she picked up the deck and dropped it on the table, and wh en it landed, the queen o f hearts was face up on top. I was astonished. Looking back, I’m still pretty astonished that my sister knew both Magi cian’s Choice and the air-pressure turnover when she was 10 years old. Fortu nately she’s forgotten both by now, and I can fool her with the same trick.

Fire Larry Becker had a great idea. He had Alex imagine burning a deck of cards, choosing which cards will bu rn — first by color, then by suit, forcin g a desired suit. Any card in that suit was selected, and revealed using a multiple-out sys tem (Larry originally applied this to Kolossal Killer III, and later his Versadex wallet). Ken Krenzel took the concept further, forcing a smaller group of cards, and placed the imaginary fire in an apartment building. He also used the idea of a dream to introduce the effect. David Regal carried this idea to its logical extreme by forcing one specific card. Dave also added the lovely touch that his dream was interrupted when he woke u p — something everyone can relate to— so Dave has the spectators decide how the dream ends. The combined Becker-Krenzel-Regal approach is a terrific example of the technique of magician 's choice. It puts the choices in the context o f a story— a big step forward in presentation versus procedure-based versions. It gets the audience involved, since they're taking part in telling the story, making mean ingful choices that build directly on each other. There's an automatic build in dramatic intensity as the flames close in on the final card, in a way which perfectly mirrors the magical structure of the trick. And there is never any confusion— the audience feels that they understand the process as a whole, even while it's going on. You burn all the cards but one— simple, elegant, clas sic. Finally, this story does away with the need to reinterpret your statements after the fact. The interpretation you give to all the spectators's answers is the sam e— they are choosing which cards to burn, and the cards they choose get burned. This is a great example o f how scripting can enhance an already great magic technique.

The Disposable Deck The final piece of the puzzle was provided by David Regal, who took the hotel fire equivoque and added his own wonderful Disposable Deck as the per fect climax. The Disposable Deck is such a perfect clima x for the hotel fire plot that it seems it must have been created for that purpose. But it wasn 't— David thought of combining the two almost a year after he introduced the Dispos able Deck in his close-up act at the Magic Castle. I think this may be a part of what Al Baker was talking about when he said most magicians stop thinking too soon. David Regal never stops thinking at all. By the way, this script will regularly break into two columns (like “It's the Future") depending on the different choices Alex makes.


Hotel 52 by David Regal Int— Magic Castle— Evening David puts a deck of cards on the table. David I had the most amazing dream last night, but I woke up before the end. Don ’t you hate it when that happens? It was about a hotel called “The Hotel 5 2.” A strange name for a hotel. I did n’t know wha t it meant, b ut t he n I thou ght, “I bet this has to do with p laying c ards.” In my dream sure enough, inside was a deck of cards, dancing and having a great time. Then, tragedy. The worst thing that could happen in a hotel. A fire! David claps his hands together sharply. David That’s when I woke up. I don’t know what ha pp ene d in th at dream, a nd i t’s driving me nuts. Could you help me? Tell me the rest of this d ream , so I know how it ended. First, I should tell you, the red cards were dancing in one room, and the black cards were dancin g in ano th er. Alex, where was the fire headed? Toward the black cards or th e red car ds? Alex The black cards.

Alex The red cards.

David The black cards? What a tragedy! There they go, burned to ash by the fire. The red cards are still dancing away, oblivious of the fire.

David Oh no, toward the red cards? They’re terrible danger!

David Smoke starts pouring in keyhole, and it starts to of the red cards. Lee, is for the Diamonds or the

through the overpower some the smoke headed Hearts?

Lee The Diamonds.

Lee The Hearts.

David The Diamonds? There they go, the Diamonds, falling to the ground, overcome. All that’s left are the Hearts.

David Oh no, the Hearts? I can see them. They’re getting dizzy... it’s hard for them to stand.

David Now sparks start comin g in through a vent, headed for the Hearts. The sparks start to land on some of the Hearts. Chris, do they land on the number cards or the picture car ds? Chris The number cards.

Chris The picture cards.

David The number cards? You’re sure? Oh no, paper and sparks are a bad mix—th e number cards burst into flame and are no more. Now all we have left are the picture cards, the Jack, Queen and King of Hearts, and not all of them are going to survive!

David Oh no, the picture cards? So you say the Jack, Queen, and King of Hearts are being hit by sparks. They’re running across the room in a panic, and not all of them are going to survive.

David They head for the exit door th at leads to the roof of the hotel and safety, when


suddenly a burning beam crashes down from the ceiling, blocking the doorway. Tell me, Ricky, who p ut s him se lf in harm ’s way and decides to lift the burning beam? Is it the fellas, the Jack and the King, or is it the Queen? Ricky The Jack and King.

Ricky The Queen.

David All right, there they go—the Jack and King put themselves in harm’s way and raise up the burning beam, catching on fire as the Queen slips underneath and makes her way up to the roof of the hotel, where she’s rescued seconds before it crumbles to the ground.

David Really? What a brave lady! The Queen risks all and grabs the beam, tossing it out of the way and rushing up to the roof of the hotel, where sh e’s rescued seconds before it crumbles to the ground.

David Wow, thanks for telling me how that dream ended. It was so exciting. I could almost see it, the Queen of Hearts on the roof of the hotel. It’s amazing what the mind can conjure up. Know what’s even more amazing? David claps his hands together sharply. David Now it’s become a reality. The Queen of Hearts really did make it to the top. David picks up the top card of the deck and shows it to the aud ience. It’s the Queen of Hearts. David Just before the hotel...

David picks up the deck. David ...crumbled to the ground. David looks at the deck, then crumples it into a ball.

The End

The magician takes charge o f every aspect o f the story, pointing your head in certain directions at certain moments, emphasizing certain occurrences and minimizing others, hinting at every surprise, and imparting specific meanings. I f the performance is successful, it is because the storytelling has been successful.

Jim. Steinmeyer


Notes on Hotel 52 Notice the way David reels the audience into the story. First, he talks about waking up before his dream reached its end— an experience everyone can relate to. Then he starts telling the story, and breaks it off right as its get ting dramatic, setting the hook. Finally he has different spectators make the different decisions in the story, w hich — aside from getting more people in vo lved— makes the selection process seem more random and fair.

Method You'll need a new Disposable Deck fake every time, as usual, but the se lected card is not destroyed, so you can use it again.

Setup Assemble a Disposable Deck, and put a Queen o f Hearts face down on top o f it.

Equivoque One of the many great features of this script is the fact that you the magi cian only have to remember one basic way of forcing the spectator’s choice back to your script. Because the story structure masks the equivoque so thor oughly, you can use the same forcing structure each time. So you don’t have to remember different wording for each choice.

Adaptation Okay, let’s say you don’t, for whatever reason, have David Regal’s Dispos able Deck. Maybe you bought it, and you used them all, and you haven’t had a chance to order more. Or maybe they’re so amazingly successful that they’re sold out. Perhaps Dave’s on the lam in Latin America again, and can’t fill your order. Even if all of these com mo n events occur at once, you can still perform this script, without the feke. It won’t have quite as powerful an effect on Da vid’s b ank account, but it’s still magical and makes sense with the story. Take a blank-faced deck and put the Queen of Hearts on top. Do the entire story, forcing the Queen o f Hearts. Now end with “The Queen o f Hearts really did make it to the top.” Pick up the deck, secretly side jog the Queen to the right about half its width, and drop the deck to the table. The Queen will flip over and land back on the deck face up. (This is the Air-Pr essure Turnover that my sister baffled me with.) Now say “And the hotel was destroyed” and spread the blank deck face up. This isn’t as shocking as the Disposable Deck, but the appearance of blank faces is still surprising, and magical, and is a fitting climax to the presentation.

If you really, really like this trick, and you decide to take a candle and scorch the faces of all the cards in the deck, I'll tell you what— don’t do it. You will burn your house down and sue me, and take my house, although your lawyer will end up with my house and all you’ll get is my shed. It’s not worth it; my shed sucks. In any event, I am telling you no w— do not scorch your deck. But it would be pretty cool.

References Larry’s Becker’s original burning building concept appears in “Kolossal Killer III,” from his Mental Masterpieces DVD. "Fired Up” is in Ken Krenzel’s Ingenuities by Stephen Minch, Hermetic Press, 1997. Get the Disposable Deck at www .davidregal.com.

Never say “You’re wrong. ”

Dale Carnegie (How to Win Friends and Influence People) This essay was the third scriptwriting column I wrote for Genii magazine. Quick now, before you read on, what number column was this? Three? Wrong! You’re not paying attention! The basic presentational structure which this introduction parodies has been condemned by just about every magic thinker and/or writer who’s both ered to think and/or write about it. Despite this unanimous critical antipathy, it is maybe the most common dialog in magic today. It’s regularly used by a large number of magicians for a variety of different tricks, who work ex tra hard to overcome its apparent flaws — and that’s just the lucky ones. The unlucky ones alienate their audiences and dull the sensation of m ag ic— the ultimate lose-lose scenario.

Wrong! I’m not the first person to condemn the “Wrong!” school of presentation. In fact, virtually the only time this strategy appears in magic literature is in an essay arguing against it. Sadly, the combined advice of magic’s best think ers has not eliminated this style of presentation That’s not really surprising. Scripting a new presentation takes time and sustained hard work. And a lot of magicians like to feel superior to their audiences. Rather than just adding to the chorus of voices in opposition, I thought I would offer an easy and effective alternative which you can try for yourself, and see if you don’t get a better response. You won’t have to create, write, learn and rehearse an entirely new presentation. In fact, it’s so easy, you can try it out the very next time you perform . See if it doesn’t make a difference you can feel immediately. Let’s start with a representative example o f a wrong-based script, so we can see what might be improved:

Magus I put two balls in my hand, and I put the third one in my pocket. Now, how many do I have in my hand? A le x

Two. Magus Wrong. (shows three balls.) You’re not paying attention. Frequently this is not just an isolated line but the foundation o f the presenta tion. I've seen this with the sponge balls and two-in-the-hand, one-in-the-pocket, but I've also seen it with a simple ha ndk erchief vanish, the Color-Changing Knives, Coins Across, you name it. An d o f course, this kind o f presentation is standard in a 3-Card Monte routine, a special case we'll talk about later. I'm not going to say you can't do this and be a professional magician. In the month before I wrote this I saw two different full-time pros use this basic script at the Magic Castle. Good magicians, people who make their living do ing magic. Not to mention two o f the nicest guys you'll ever meet. But think about the disadvantages you're imp osing on yourself by using this script. First, as Dale Carnegie will tell you, this is not a good way to win friends. People don't like being quizzed when they don't know the answer. And they positively hate being told they are wrong. Imagine how they feel about being told they are wrong publicly, in front of others. Second, it greatly inhibits your audience's response to everything you do. Anybody who sees you say “Wrong” to the assisting spectator will be less likely to respond after that, for fear the same thing might happen to them. Worst o f all, it completely un derm ines the effect of magic. A script can dramatize the magic and enhance the audience's feeling o f wonder. But in this example you literally deny the effect you worked so hard to create. It's not m agic— they just weren't paying attention. All in all, it's hard to im agine a less effective presentation for a m agic trick.

The Spectator is Always Right Fortunately there's a way to turn this type of presentation around. It will make your magic stronger, and make your audience like you more. And you can try it the very next time you perform. Here's all you do:

SCRIPTING MAGIC j 17$

Magus I put two balls in my hand, and I put the third one in my pocket. Now... how many do I have in my hand? Alex Two. Magus Right. Now watch. Magus waves his hand over his fist. Magus That’s all it takes. He opens his fist, revealing three balls. Magus Now th ere’s three. If you use wrong-based scripting, this change will improve your magic more than anything else you can do. All you’ve really done is made Alex right instead o f wrong. But think o f all this buys you. First o f all, people like being told they are right, so you’re rewarding Alex for participating. So more people will be comfortable being involved. The more involved they are, the more they’ll enjoy your sh ow — and the more powerful your magic will be. And you are rewarding Alex for playing along. If you put two balls in your hand and then ask how many there are, many people will be suspicious. It’s too obvious; they know something is up. So their normal fear of giving a wrong answer in public is heightened. Still, most people will go along with the game, just to be polite. And how do you reward their polite ness? It’s no surprise that if you tell them they’re wrong, they’ll be much less likely to play along next time. Conversely, the m ore you tell the spectators they are right, the more they’ll give you the answers you want. Most important, you’re using Alex’s answer to strengthen the appearance of the third ball, instead o f negating it. This is a perfect illustration o f usin g a script to enhance your magic. Making Alex right shifts the moment of magic to after the move, so it can’t be unraveled by retrograde analysis. The one lie people will always believe is “You’re right.” This technique can easily be expanded, depending on your character:

Magus How many? A le x

Two. Magus Exactly, two. (smiles) You’re paying attention, that’s good, (pause) Makes it ha rd er for me, b ut th at ’s what yo u’re supposed to do. Now watch. Just a wave, and... (waves hand over fist)...two becomes... (opens ha nd) ...three! This can be overdone, o f course, and for some people this second example will be too much. In fact, I expect some o f you think this entire approach is too much to begin with. One magician told me this trick isn’t good enough to sup port that much presentation. I respect this fellow’s opinion. Well, to tell you the truth, I don’t respect it all that much. I f you think the trick isn’t that good, why are you p erform ing it? Aren’t there more than enough great mysteries to fill your repertoire? And I do think it’s good enough. Turning two balls into three is a miracle. The horn of plenty is an incredibly powerful archetype. O f course, ultimately I think a good presentation for this or any trick will go far beyond even this much-improved script. It will include a reason why the objects are returning to your hand, what is the specific nature of the magic power being wielded, and even (dare I hope) something that makes the audi ence care. But that’s a lot of time and effort, to create, rehearse, and integrate a new presentation into your repertoire. It’s a big commitment. There’s no big commitment to the simple change I’m proposing. All you have to do is make your spectators right instead o f wrong. You don’t even have to script it out— just say “ Right” and improvise the rest. Everything else will take care o f itself. Let the spectators be right. Make their bein g right an integral part o f the ef fect. I f nothing else, your spectators— who, i f you are being paid to perform, are your customers— will be glad you did.

Wrong Again The one trick to which you cannot apply this basic technique is the 3-Card Monte, right? Wrong! You’re not paying attention!


At the inaugural Las Vegas Close-Up Classic, the dear departed Mike Rog ers killed me with his 3-Card Monte routine. Not because of the moves, but by how he set up the role of the spectator. Mike started by telling the spectator what was going to happen. “We’re go ing to play a game, and I ’m going to w in — because I cheat.” Just with this one sentence Mike is miles ahead o f the typical magician. Because now, if the spectator “loses,” that’s okay. Then Mike showed two black Twos and the red Queen, and did a fair toss onto the table. “Now,” he continued, “if I asked you where the Queen is, what would you say?” This is brilliant. It’s brilliant because the spectator can not get this question wrong. This is worth thinking about for a while. If Mike says “Where is the

Queen,” the spectator’s answer can be wrong. But when he says “Where do you think the Queen is,” the answer, by definition, is correct. In addition to making the spectator feel much more comfortable, Mike’s question eliminates any chance that the spectator will try to trip him up, be cause he’s not asking where the Queen is. Everyone who’s ever heard of 3-Card Monte is well aware that they don’t know where the Queen is. Instead they’re being asked where the Queen is supposed to be. That they know. At this point the spectator picked a card and Mike showed that it was in deed the Queen. Here’s where it gets sublime. Mike said “Very good, it’s right here. Now, that’s the last time you’ll get it right. From now on, I’m going to cheat and you won’t be able to catch me.” Mike smiled as he said this and nodd ed— it was definitely not a challenge, just a matter-of-fact description of what was to come. The spectator smiled too, and nodded right along. This is pure genius. It makes it clear that there’s nothing wrong with the spectator for guessing incorrectly, and it communicates in clear but subtle language not to even try to outguess the performer. You are supposed to be fooled, it says — that's your part in the show. If the spectator guesses wrong, he or she has succeeded. This completely eliminates any hint of a “challenge” to the routine, and allows the spectator to just sit back and give the “obvious” answer, which they did. The routine was a smash and both the audience and the assisting spectators loved it equally. If Mike Rogers can script the 3-Card Monte in such a way as to make the spectator right instead of wrong, surely you can do the same with the sponge balls. I hope this inspires a few magicians to take a “Wrong!” trick and, just once, let the spectator be right. It’s really very easy and you will be amazed at what a difference it makes.

Update After the original version o f this article appeared in Genii Magazine, I dis covered that this advice is so good, it was published by Jamy Ian Swiss twenty years previously. It appeared, in fact, in the first trick Jamy ever published, called “Hippity Cop” (originally in Apocalypse issue #76 ,19 8 4 ; the excerpt be low is from an updated version in Another Interesting Application o f That Princi ple). This is a gaff-free version o f the Hopping Half, a trick whose presentation all too often includes the magician saying the word “wrong” multiple times. Here’s Jamy’s advice: Rather than building the trite and potentially unpleasant challenge aspect, why not pursue these events as a demonstration of the mak ing of magic? In other words, sure, ask the spectator what is in your hand, by way of confirmation of reality. Acknowledge that he is cor rect. Now, make the magic happen. Snap your fingers or provide some other “ Intention of Magic” (to use Al S chneider’ s excellent ter minology), then show that you have at that moment made the coin magically return.

Always treat the audience as you would wish to be treatedyourself. It’s not easy to remember in magic, becauseyour job is tofool them. But you need tofool them the way you would like to befooled yourself

Teller


The Self-Cutting Banana

I

read this presentation in Electronic Grymoire, an email magic digest run

by Bruce Barnett. It was written by Larry White, who at the time was in the middle o f a great run as magic editor of M-U-M magazine, and I im mediately recognized what a classic piece o f scripting it is. This routine

produces immediate interaction with the audience and generates continuous laughs from both kids and adults alike. Like Gary Ouellet does in The Human Galvanometer , Larry gives Alex a fun part to play, that gets big laughs, and only requires one word. Best of all, the structural device is so simple you can adapt it to virtually any tone or style o f presen tation— and, for that matter, almost any trick. Struc tures like this are worth their weight in gold. Don’t let the fact that this is written for a kid show fool you; this device works for any audience. The script would be quite different for adults, and you might pick a different effect (although an adult audience would have a great time with a banana). But it is guaranteed to play. You can’t ask for more than that.

Yes! by Larry White Int Auditorium—Day —

Larry stands on the stage with Alex, a child from the audience. Larry Will you come up and help me please? Th an k you. What’s your name? Alex Alex. Larry Thanks Alex. Would you like to earn a quarter? Alex Sure. Larry All you have to do is answer every qu es ti on I ask with the word “ye s.” No matter what question I ask, you say “yes.” Can you do that? Alex Yes. Larry Great. Are you glad to be up here with me? Alex Yes. Larry. Or would you rather be eating liver and onions? Alex Yes.


Larry That’s unusual. Tell me, what’s your name? Alex Yes. Larry What a strange name. Do all your friends call you Yes? Alex Yes. Larry Well, I guess they couldn’t call you anything else, could they? Alex Yes. Larry Could they call you ‘No’? Alex Yes. Larry They could? Now I’m getting very mixed up. Tell me Yes, or No, are you a boy? Alex Yes. Larry Or are you a girl? Alex Yes. Larry Gosh, you are really mixed up, aren’t you? Alex Yes.

Larry Would you rath er I ask ed you som eth ing else? Alex Yes. Larry Okay. Are you married? Alex Yes. Larry And, what is yo ur [h us ba nd /w ife ]’s name? Alex Yes. Larry Mister and Mrs. Yes. Any kids? Alex Yes. Larry Big family? Alex Yes. Larry Well, enough small talk, let’s get started. Tell me, ‘Yes’, do you believe in bananas? Alex Yes. Larry Good. Larry hands Alex a banana. Larry Now, do you believ e in ghosts?


Alex

Yes. Larry Do you believe a ghost can help us do a magic trick? Alex Yes. Larry Do you know a ghost who can help us? Alex Yes. Larry Will you call him right now? Alex Yes. Larry Have you called him? Alex Yes. Larry Good. Will your ghost friend help the world’s greatest magician perform this trick? Alex Yes. Larry You do know who the world’s greatest magician is, don’t you? Alex Yes. Larry Tell the audience his name.

Alex

Yes. Larry

No, no... you’re not a magician. I’m th e world’s greatest magician, isn’t that right? Alex Yes. Larry And you always tell the truth, don’t you? Alex Yes. Larry Is your ghost friend ready to do his banana trick? Alex Yes. Larry What should we do... Should we make him... cut the banana? Alex Yes. Larry How about we make him cut the banana while it is still in the skin? Alex Yes. Larry He’d have to be a ghost to cut a banana while it’s still in the skin, wouldn’t he? Alex Yes.


«

Larry Can your ghost friend do that? Chris Yes. Larry Gosh, I can’t even do that. Can he cut it into five hundred and fifty-three pieces? Alex Yes. Larry Now let me get th is stra ig ht. You are going to ask your invisible ghost friend, that nobody else here believes in, to cut that banana yo u are holdin g into five hundred and fifty-three pieces while it is still inside the skin. Is that right? Alex Yes. Larry Boy, that sounds like an awful hard trick. Would you rather try something easier? Alex Yes. Larry Okay, let’s try... Four pieces. Will he do that? Alex Yes. Larry I’ll count to four and he can make one cut on each count. Okay? Alex Yes.

Larry One, two, three, four. Is it done? Alex Yes. Larry Really? This banana that’s never even been opened is now cut into fo ur piece s inside its skin? Alex Yes. Larry That’s impossible! Let’s have a look. But first, do you remember I offered you a qua rter if you answered every question with a ‘Yes’? Alex Yes. Larry Is it okay if I change it to a penny? Alex Yes. Larry ' I’m just kidding. Tell you what—you’ve done a great job, if you r gh ost really did cut that banana I will give you two quarters. Is that all right? Alex Yes. Larry Peel the banana and let’s see how you did. Alex Yes. Alex peels the banana and discovers it’s in pieces.


Larry One, two, three, four pieces. Isn’t that amazing? Alex Yes. Larry My goodness, your ghost friend has cut the banana into exactly four quarters... and you certainly have earned two of those quarters! Larry holds out two banana pieces, then pulls two real quarters from his pocket. Larry Just kidding. Here are two real quarters. Thanks for helping me. Do you like applause? Alex Yes. Larry Applause for Alex!

The End

Notes on Yes! Method Is there a magician who doesn’t know the secret of this trick? Take a needle and stick it into a banana, then wiggle it back and forth to cut the fruit. Do this three times and you’ll have four pieces. Wipe away any banana that oozes out o f the holes. You want the real work on the self-cutting banana trick? Here it is, but don’t share this with anybody. First off, push the needle through a brown spot, so the hole won’t show. Second, you can use a paper clip instead of a needle; it’s easier to carry and easier to find one in an impromptu situation. Cut a banana into four pieces inside the peel— just for fun, m ake the piec es different siz es — and you are ready to do a wonderful, audience-tested kid show routine, that will entertain the whole fam ily for five minu tes.

Adaptation One of the great things about a flexible structure like this is that you have so much room for variation. So the first thing I would do is see i f you can apply the structure to a trick you already do. This is one of the most flexible presen tations you’ll ever see, so that shouldn’t be too hard. You can easily adapt the script to your own style or any specific presentation needs you may have. It’s even a great structure for improvising; especially since you get to improvise without Alex having to. I really believe that, because o f the way m agicians look down on the self-cutting banana, Larry’s script will be one of the real over looked gem s o f this book. Personally, I am fascinated by the idea of having two spectators come up, and one always says “Yes,” the other “No”. Then ask them questions about each other.

References An earlier version o f this presentation originally appeared in Tannen’s Magic Manuscript under Larry’s pseudonym “Barton”.

Max Maven: Scripting Tricks

I

f you are reading this book, you know who M ax Maven is. He is inarguably one o f the most knowledgeable, experienced, prolific, and success

ful professional magicians in the world. I took him to lunch and for the cost of curry noodles got Max to spill his decades o f experience and

thoughtful reflection on the process o f how to script your magic, and why.

Pete How much scripting do you do, and how do you do it?

Pete (Nods) I have no idea what that means.

Max Everything I do is scripted to a certain degree. The degree will change depending on the piece and the circumstances. Very little that I do is scripted in an ironclad way, b e c a u s e so m u ch o f it in  v o l v e s au d ien c e p a rtic ip ation , and therefore I cannot stick to a script v e rb a t im e v e r y ti me.

Ma x There’s a point in the evolu tion of a theater play where you f r e e z e — y o u s a y w e a re s t i c k i n g to this script. Ethel Merman used to say “We’ve gone Birds Eye.”

Pete Y e s — as a m en talist, e v e r y tri ck y ou do h as au d ien ce p a r ti c i p a  tion. Max The re are a couple of pi eces that I do wh ere there may be a somewh at lengthy introduction to a piece, and there are a couple of stories that I tell on the stage, which are not interac tive at all, and those are v e r y e x p lic it scrip ts, th ose d o n ’t change. If they do, they change af ter a period o f ye ar s— I ma y s ay “I think I can massage that line.” But they have essentially gone Birds Eye.

Pete Ah. So w h e n e v e r s o m e th i n g ’s good enough... Ma x It’s not a question of good e n o u g h — t h e re c om e s a p o in t w h er e y o u h ave to stop. You can tweak and tamper and improve a script forever. But there comes a time where you just have to stop. It’s very hard, as a writer, whether a script or a novel, it’s quite a hard thing to decide when you stop. Sometimes you just have to stop to stop, even if you think yes, it could be better, I could still en hance this. But this way lies mad ness. I have routines that have gone Birds Eye years ago. But that do es n’t mean that I do n’t thaw them out at some point.

But to get back to your question, Max I write scripts but I don’t literally And I would ne ed to re write the write them . I’m not advocating line anyway. this as a good idea—it’s just how I’ve always done it. I’ll make notes Pete to myself during a process of ges How about when you’re doing a tation, but then in the course of trick based on magician’s choice? rehearsing, these lines come to exist. I know friends who write Max ever ythin g down. I adm ire that— I More than anything else, when admire the discipline and I admire yo u ’re do in g that sort of equi the fact that they can also go back voque m ate rial, yo u ’re oblige d to and find out what the hell they work on a very lo ose sc ript. It ha s said should they put a routine a skele ton — every thing I do has aside. But, at least in theory, if the a skeleton, even if the script is lines are good, then there’s sort of loose, there has to be a skeleton a Darwinian process by which if or else you lose a ny kind of defini it’s good, you’ll remember it, and tion. You have to have a sense of if it’s not good, you forget it, and wha t key poin ts you wan t to hit, it’s just as well. and what the structure of the piece is. The tightest scripting I have is Pete in longer pieces that would usu I think, for a professional like ally be segm ents — I do a blin dfold yourself, that might work. But I routine, and the opening segment don’t have any trick that I perform consists basically of me giving in often enough... I might forget any structions to spectators on stage. thing, just because I don’t do it of And th ey don’t have too much to ten enough. say. Now I’m open to someone who blurts something out or doesn’t Max understand what I say or gives me I find for myself, I do occasionally a funny look. I’m constantly open forget things. If there’s a routine I to the possibility of ad-libbing. haven’t done in a long while, and I But having said that, I’m sticking take it out of mothballs and do it, to a pretty uniform script, certain the first time I do it again, I may lines of which have been in my have lost some lines. But if they’re repertoire for 30 years. good enough, they come back. They may be topical, in which case When I was doin g nig htc lu bs, there yo u may not wan t them to come were two jok es in particula r, which back. Or maybe a line that fit me were so rt of my priv ate tim e. Be ten years ago, and now I’m... cause I could essentially do them on autopilot, which meant I could take a few minutes to be saying... Pete do I want to edit out that routine, A differe nt person. and tie this up earlier... what do


I feel like having for d inner to  So I’m playing both ends against the middle. But that has certain night. It was kind of a rest period, because the scripts had no varia issues in terms of my persona. tion. I also have an ample supply My character is constantly teeter ing on the brink of several things. of lines that I call floaters, more There’s an ele than I would use ment of unusual in a single show. The most important of formality about And th ese lines the three is the one my character, can literally float moreso than around; early in that's least often most perform the show, late in answered\ and that's ers in this era, the show, mid “Who is this person?” and at the same dle of one rou time the ability tine, in a differ ent routine. So it’s still a form of to suddenly step outside of the scripting, but it’s a form of script character and do a meta charac ter who comments on the charac ing that’s willfully very flexible. ter. There’s usually more than one track going on at the same time. Pete Have you always scripted every Pete thing? There’s a side of your character that could do anything at any mo Max ment, and there’s also a side that’s I think so. I think even when I was 12 or 14 doing birth day part ies, I been planning this all along. And those are opposite, but the audi w asn ’t w ork in g off a fo rm al sc ript, but I had a sense of the skele ence is never quite sure which it ton — setting up a con text, w ork is. ing off a structure. I think I’ve be Max come more disciplined with age. I think that thing that you’ve just identified creates a certain fris Pete son in my work that I like. If you Since you were 12 ? I would hope. think that something is carefully prepared and highly structured Max I’m quick on my feet, I’ve been do and doesn’t change from show ing this a long time, I express my to show, that’s very possibly the se lf rea so na bly well — I can fake it point where I’m really flying by be tter than m ost peo ple . But I do n’t. the seat of my pants and it’s never looked like that before. On the oth I don’t fake it as much as it might appear. Sometimes when I speak er hand, when you look at some thing and think “Oh, he’s out there extemporaneously it sounds very on a tightrope and ad-libbing,” it polished, and some of the things may be something that happens that have been carefully polished that way every single time. And I may sound very extemporaneous.

think the only way to achieve this is by using scripting.

being able to stand back from that and say, does this accomplish wh at I need it to do, d o es it m ove Pete forward with enough speed but The advantages that you get from not too much, does it convey the scripting: some of them are very information clearly without bela straightforward, some are more boring the point? Does it allow the subtle. audience ob serving and the partic ipator participating enough time Max to catch up? All of the se things re One of the best things you can quire some attention to verbal de get from scripting is the opportu tail. And that’s, I think, where a lot nity for editing. When I work with of magicians and mentalists fall: other perform in the area of in ers, one of the struction. Because The trick to getting things I’m con it’s so functional, that to work is not stantly say they don’t think ing is, we can about it. They just a magic trick tighten that. say well okay, I it's a scripting trick. We’re tak ing ju s t h ave to tel l four sentences them A, B, C, and to say what we can accomplish in D, and then we can move on to the exciting stuff. half a sentence. That’s not always t he b e s t t h i n g — e c o n o m y o f w o r d s is not always the ideal way to go. Pete Far from it; there are uses of rep I was watching a recent TV spe etition, and repeated rhythm, and cial; the magician spread a deck of opulent verbiage has its place. cards in front of a spectator and Having said that, a lot of the said “Just touch a card.” But the time in magic, particularly in the spectator was already reaching, branch I’m in, which involves a lot and took a card, and the magi of instruction giving, you’re look cian had to say “No no, just touch ing for efficiency, both because the it.” It was a small thing, but I hate giving of instructions is usually to stop the spectator from doing not very interesting to the rest of something. Ideally you don’t want the audience, so you don’t want it the spectator to remember any to take too long, but on the other limitations on what they do. hand the instructions must be un Max derstood by the person receiving them; if he or she doesn’t clearly The trick to getting that to work is understand what you’re s uppos ed not a magic tric k— it’s a scripting to do, the routine can fall apart. So trick. The trick is that you must choosing the words by which in be very careful about both the se structions are delivered, is a place quence and timing of doling out wh ere th e benefit o f scriptin g and information. If you spread a deck

—

SCRIPTING MAGIC ] 194

of cards, because spectators are used to the whole notion of grab bing cards out of the deck, that’s the wrong sequence of activity.

Pete That’s why you keep getting hired to do them on prime-time network TV.

Pete They’ll take one, they don’t care what you say, they’re alr eady reaching tc take one.

Max This is not easy. Delivering these instructions requires a very co herent script, that is meticulous ly timed, as well as the physical blocking. As you know from work ing in television, being off by two or three inches can ruin a shot. I’m also working in most cases in a completely tight time frame. They will say “We wan t th is to come in at 2 :4 0 .” And if they say that, 2:50 is not acceptable.

Max I’ll give you a very simple exam ple. There are times when I do wan t so m eone to to uch a card, and I will always tell them to put out their finger, before I spread the deck. Pete Because once you spread the deck, it’s too late. Max And that’s a form of scrip tin g. It’s a scripted behavior, more than w ords, bu t it’s still scrip tin g. Pete When you write a scrip t it’s not ju st dia lo g, it’s action as well. Max Exactly. I think all too often, pa rtic  ularly in the area of giving instruc tions, there’s confusion because y o u ’re not doling out the in fo rm a tion in the right sequence and in the right incremen ts — som etime s you giv e much too much in fo rm a tion, and the person is not able to catch up. I do these interactive things for television. Magicians hate them. Mind you the audience loves them.

Pete 2:42 is not acceptable. Max And I have to figu re out how to co nv ey the inform ation I wish to convey, within that specific time frame, fast enough that it fits the need, but clear enough, I mean the speed issue is not simply fitting that performance time, but also finding a comfortable balance so that the slow viewers and the fast vie w ers are not shut out. Too fa st, vie w ers who are slow on the up take get lost, they can’t play the game. Whereas if it’s too slow, peo ple who are sharp are going to say “This is boring” and hit the channel clicker. So these are very difficult to script. Somewhere in my boxes of crap I have a thank you letter from Dick Clark... Some years ago Dick had a summer series that was done live . I was booked fo r the first episode. The director said

they budgeted 3:45 for the piece, and during rehearsal I’m interact ing with someone standing in for the live audience, and I brought it in, if memory serves, at 3 :4 0 . Ano th er rehearsal came in exact ly the same, they were happy as clams. Next day I’m standing back  stage. Vanessa Williams is halfway through her song. Dick Clark is going to do 20 seconds of banter with Reba McEntire, sitting in the audience, and then me. So we are now literally 90 seconds before I’m going to walk out on live na tional television, and a RA. comes running up to me backstage and says “The show is running 10 sec onds over, can you trim for me?” And I said sure . I so m ewhere ha ve a thank-you note from Dick Clark. These are things that cannot be done without a script. Otherwise how do you know how to tighten or expand, if you’re just winging it? Pete That’s one of the more prominent benefits. What are some of the less obvious?

time — this was 30 years ag o— I was brea king in my blindfo ld rou tine. The one I still do. And one of the gags I used back then, which I dropped because it’s no longer topical, was when the person from the audience was tying the blind fold around my head, and they would yank it tigh t— because I would man eu ve r them to yankin g it tight—and I would react as if they had yanked it far tighter than I wanted. And I would say “Exce drin headache number...” And I don’t remember what the number was, because the jo k e no lo nger has any use for me. But I will tell you that it to ok me w eeks to find the right number. You can’t just plug any number in there. Pete Right. Gotta have a “K” sound, so six. Max Well, I think the “K” rule is ju st a little bit overstated. But some numbers... you try certain num bers and it doesn’t work. It has to do with the rhythm of the number, whether it’s a big or sm all num  ber, whether it feels like a random number or feels like a round num ber.

Max One advantage of scripting is that yo u can fin d the perfe ct turn of phrase. It’s astonishing how much the slightest difference or tweak Pete 666 . can change something. Years ago there was a series of very suc Max cessful commercials for Excedrin the headache remedy. They would Well... but th at’s a whole diffe rent show someone in some horrible jo ke. And m ay be it puts the jo ke situation that gave them a head out of balance for what the basic ache, and then sa y “That’s Excedrin jo k e is. Which m ay be go od or bad . headache number 148 .” So at the The point is that that even some

SCRIPT1NG MAGIC | 196

thing as small as deciding what number for a simple line like that, you need to figure ou t. And if yo u ju st blithely call out a num ber... Pete Take you a thousand tries to get the right number. Max Exactly. So there’s a less obvious element of scripting. Finding ex actly the right number. Pete With, if I rem em ber correctly, 1,800 tricks you have published... Max I’ve lost count. If you want to count the total number of things I’ve published it’s about 2 , 0 0 0 . Pete Plus the ones that you haven’t published, things that are in your a c t— th at’s a lot. So I’m goin g to assume that there isn’t just one way th at you approach scrip ting for a project. Max I don’t know that it’s ever quite the same. Pete So where do you begin, most of ten?

trick, although I like a clever trick. I alwa ys ask three questions w hen  ever I look at a performer, whenev er I read a trick. Who is this person? What story are th ey tryin g to tell me? And why is it worth my time? The most important of the three is the one that’s least often an swered, and that’s “Who is this person?” Most people we watch perform have no idea who they are, and we’re watching actually the equivalent of a fifth-genera tion video dub of someone else’s show. But I hope we get the chance to see performers who do have a sense o f who th ey are, which is the starting point for any performer. The next choice, what story are they trying to tell me, the word “story” is a bit misleading because I’m not necessarily talking about a linear story, although that’s cer tainly an option. But the story can be different. The story can be “Sometimes what looks like one ball can turn out to be four.” That is a story. It may not be a good story, or it may be a great story. The point is, it doesn’t have to be “Once upon a time there were four detectives,” etc. But there’s always a story. Picasso said “There is no such thing as abstract art—all art is representative because you must always start with som ething .”

Max Most of the time I start with a con And the third quest io n is “Why ceptual premise. Whether it’s in is it worth my time,” which in a venting a mag ic tric k or for p erfor sense is really a moot question be mance, I’m much more interested cause if the first two questions are in the context than I am in a clever

answered well, the third question answers itself.

Pete It’s worth your time because the person and story are interesting. Max Right. The third question is the clincher to remind you how im portant the first two questions are. The bonus question, which is sort of 1 A, is if there is more than one person in the act, the question is “What is the relation ship between these people?” Which lo gic ally fo llow s from “Who is this person?” Once it be comes “Who are these people,” yo u ha ve to answ er the q u es tion “What is their relationship?”

Max I feel that most magic tricks—or at least most o f the cla ss ics — have primal story lines that are there wheth er yo u wan t them to be or not. Pete That’s why they’re classics. Max I spoke with Juan Tamariz the oth er day, and we got to talking about the Cut and R esto red Rope. He tried doing the reverse; in other words having a rope that was solid, and then it magically separates, and he found it wasn’t a good trick. Now that may be something inherent or it may be because he couldn’t think of a good framework, but it is an interesting thing. He was saying that he feels that the rope is sort of the classic rope to heav en that shows up in almost all my thology, you know, Jack and the Beanstalk is essentially that, the ladder to heaven that shows up in shamanistic legends...

Given those questions, I think purely exp ositiona l m agic — here ’s a coin, now it’s gone—in and of itself suffers. It does not measure up to those questions well. Hav ing said that, if the person doing it is interesting enough, the sto ryline here’s a coin, now it’s gone can be pulled up by the answer to Pete the first question. Conversely, al Stairway to heaven. though perhaps less often, if the person doing it is not that inter Max esting, but there is some compel And I think th at’s on e valid thing. ling story frame for the vanishing There are other types of rope. In coin... Japan the rela ti onship betw ee n a husband and wife is referred to as Pete a rope. Specifically going through I think some tricks are so compel his nose, but that’s a different sto ling to the aud ien ce— the ability to ry. pluck money out of the air — that even if there’s a blank performer, Pete yo u’re goin g to proje ct yo u rse lf The old ball and chain. into it very easily.


Max

But I think that one of the key images that this severed restora tion brings forth, and I said this to Juan, is the umbilical cord. And Ju an said yeah , bu t in reality , it’s when the umbilical cord is sev ered that you come into being. The severance is birth, and wouldn’t restoring it be kind of negative? And I said yea h, if you wan t to look at it that way, but on the oth er hand, I think most of us look on the time spent in the womb as the most secure and safe time in our entire lives. And so while that severance on one hand is literally birth and the start of something new, it’s also the destruction of something pretty comfortable. And so I think there m ay be some sort of vague Jungian archetype that all of us as some time or an other want to restore that umbili cal cord, to crawl back.

link to the security of the womb, or a link to a spouse, or whatever. But this doesn’t change it from being there. And I know there are people who would disagree with this vehemently, but my feeling is that these themes are there. That doe sn’t mean every audience mem ber picks up on them, it certainly doesn’t mean every performer picks up on them. But the reality is that if you put that out there, it’s going to resonate with some people. Not with everybody—you know, if you set up the right fre quency of pitch, it’ll break a glass. But it won’t break every glass. Pete There’s a different frequency for each glass.

Max Right. So in the same way, I think there’s this resonating tone, if you will, about the Cut and Restored Rope, to take that as one exam Now these are pretty he avy them es ple, that is there, the frequency is considering what most people do there, and the degree to which it with the Cut and Resto re d Rope. resonates with For most peo each audience ple Cut and Re I fyou set up the right member prob stored Rope is frequency of pitchy ably varies with a throwaway. In the shape of the some people’s it'll break a glass. But vessel. But it’s hands... when it wont break every glass. going to hap Mac King does pen whether or Cut and Restored not... if a musician is putting out Rope it’s a wonderful mystery, but even when Mac does it, as extraor a piece of music and it breaks a glass, that’s probably not what dinarily clever and entertaining he or she set out to do. The glass and mysterious as his routine is — ’cau se it’ll fool dam n near doesn’t care. The musical tone anybody—it certainly is not a rou resonates with the glass, the glass breaks. That’s all contained within tine which overtly speaks to these concepts of a link to heaven, or a the song, whether it was acknowl

edged or deliberately aimed for. And so in the sam e way I th ink these themes, primal and in some cases epic themes, exist in magic. I don’t think that means that ma gicians are obliged to deal with them directly or intentionally, but wheth er th ey do or not, they’re there. So it’s at least an option one may wish to consider. Pete So it sounds like, because that’s something that interests you, it’s something you would lean to whe n develo pin g a presenta tion for a trick.

Pete Not just look at the trick, but say “What is this” in the bigger sense. And m ayb e I’m not goin g to use it, but I’m going to start there. Max It gives you a context within which to work. Pete Okay, one last question. What ad vic e would you giv e to so m eo ne who is not in your positio n with 30 years of experi ence, but is more or less just starting out in scripting.

Max Max I’ll give two pieces of advice, Well, I w ould n’t say I alw ays sta rt which m ay be contr adic to ry, bu t there. But yes, I try to be very I’ll tell them anyway. One of them aware. When I’m approaching a is by way of an anecdote about routine that I’m going to perform, George Abbott, the Broadway di I’m going to think about “What is rector who directed many of the this really about? What is the larg biggest hits on Broadway over a er concept, the larger story?” And career that spanned 70 years. The sometimes I’ll come to an opin story goes that Abbott was work ion about that and decide I’m not ing on a musical, I don’t remem going to address it, but knowing ber which one, but it was an af about it is still going to inform the ternoon where the choreographer had taken over the cast to work script. Does that make sense? on a dance sequence, and Abbott Pete wen t to le ave the th eate r to go off It makes a lot of sense. If I’m going for something else. And his path to take a trick and develop a pre in walking out of the theater was sentation for it, or write a scene across the stage, down the stairs for a script, I’m goin g to try to step of the stage, and up the aisles to back and say “What is this?” the main doors to the theater. And as he crossed the stage he saw the Max dancers all standing around doing I think you’ve just used one of the nothing, and the choreographer most important phrases of this sitting off by himself. And Ab conversation: Step back. bott did not stop walking—as he’s w alk in g off the sta ge he tu rn s to the choreographer and says “Why


aren’t you doing anything?" And the choreographer says “I’ve hit a brick wall. I’ve hit a particular place in the music and I can’t fig ure out what to put in there.” And Abbot, still without stoppin g his walk, says “Ju st put in so m ethin g, you can co me back to it la te r.”

unfortunate, not because there’s anything wrong with instant grati fication, but rather that it’s rarely possible. And if you set that up as your goal, yo u ’re alm ost alw ays going to be unhappy. There are certain things that simply cannot happ en q uickly. Now the definition of quickly changes. But you’ve parThis is wonderful advice. If you ented kids, so you k now — there is get hung up on a moment, you a certain age, around ten months, can’t go on any further. The whole a year, when a kid first tentatively issue of trying to write a script is stands and walks. They stand up so intimidating for a lot of people, leaning against a wall, gradually particularly those who’ve never they walk, at first it’s wobbly, but tried, that they never get start by a year and a half they’re run ning around ev ed. “Well I don’t know enough erywhere. Now A 6-month old baby is not yo u can have yet, I haven’t a 6-month old done enough re going to walk. Get over it. baby, and you search, I don’t can believe, and know the moves to the trick, I haven’t consid you m ight be righ t, that that baby ered all of the possible themes I is the most wonderful, smartest, could be ap ply ing h ere, I do n’t cutest—every superlative you can know quite how funny I want to think of—and that baby is not go make it, or how serious I want to ing to walk. A 6-month old baby make it.” And you keep putting is not going to walk. Get over it. up all these obstacles that keep You’re goin g to have to wait 4 or you fr om mak ing a decis io n. And 6 months before the process even starts, you’re going to have to sometimes the key is, just make a decision, knowing that you can wait the bett er part of a year be change it. But that will let you fore the process actually is func tional. That’s how it works. There move forward on the project. is a time fram e. You can enco urage the baby, you can give the baby So that’s one piece of advice. The other piece of advice, which is al demonstrations, you can bribe most contrary to that, which is my the baby, you can yell at the baby, advice to magicians in general, there’s all sorts of things you can do. The baby is not going to walk whic h is slow down. Most o f these thing s, whethe r it’s scriptw riting or at 6 months. So rather than waste anything else, do not occur quick that energ y and effort, get a handle ly. And unfortunately we live in a on the fact that not everything is society that is increasingly based immediately instant gratification, on instant gratification. And it’s instant results. This is certainly

true when it comes to learning cer tain types of moves in magic, cer tain types of techniques. It’s true there, but it’s also true in learning presentational skills, and in learn ing how to write a script. So on one hand I would offer the Abbott advic e that yo u don’t re tard your development by creat ing false obstacles. But on the one hand I would offer my contrary a d vice: slo w dow n. Ju st slow down. If it’s worth anything, it’s going to take some time. Now, slow down doesn’t mean you must go into solitary devotion for years. Slow down may mean taking two days. But those two days may be the difference between something that works and something that doesn’t.

The End


Drama

T

h is is drama: Poor Cinderella wants a dream life, with a happy end ing. But when her father dies, she is left with her stepmother, who treats her very badly. A chance arrives for her to attend a ball at the castle. How happ y she would be! But her jealous sisters destroy her

dress, and sk? cannot go. Then her fair)7godmother appears and makes her a new dress, and a coach,

and some nice glass slippers. To the ball! Cinderella dances with the Prince, and her dream is so close she can touch it. But the clock strikes midnight, and she is forced to race home before the magic wears off. She leaves behind her glass slipper; and the Prince, anxious to meet the wom an who stole his heart, sends his Duke door-to-door with the slipper. When Cinderella tries on the slipper, her dreams will come true! But when the Duke arrives, the evil stepmother locks Cinderella in her room. And after the two evil sisters try on the slipp er— it doesn’t fit — the stepmother tells the Duke that there are no other young women in the house. Before the Duke can leave, Cinderella’s frie nds — two mice, actually, be cause this is the Disney ver sio n— help her escape. She makes it to the liv ing room, and the Duke agrees to let her try on the slipper. Finally! But as the Duke’s assistant carries the slipper toward Cinderella, the evil stepmother trips him, and the glass slipper falls to the ground. It shatters into a million pieces. Cinderella’s dream o f a better life is destroyed forever. This is drama.

What is Drama? It’s easy to think of Cinderella as just a children’s story, but it has endured for more than two thousand years — there’s a Greco-Egyptian version from the first century B .C.E.— because it’s a classic drama. So if you want to make your magic more dramatic, it’s not a bad idea, first, to ask yourself: What is drama? Before I tell you my working definition of drama, I should point out that when I say it’s mine, that just means it’s the one I use. It’s millennia old — I first heard it in Broadway Bound by Neil Simon, the most successful play wright alive. It’s extremely sim ple, and very m uch worth posting on the border o f your computer screen as a constant reminder:

Somebody wants something, but they can’t get it.

It can't get much simpler than that. Of course, this formula only produces dra ma — to have an interesting, compelling, satisfying drama, you'll probably need to add a few things to this foundation. You’ll probably want the audience to identify with the characters, so the audience will care if the characters get what they want. You'll probably want the desired goal or object to be mea ning ful and impo rtant— you want it to matter if they get it or not. And you want the obstacles— the things that keep them from getting it, whether physical or emotional, internal or external— to require incre asingly heroic effort to overcome. But still, the basis o f drama is somebody can't get something they want. And so in large part, the essential point of your narrative presentation is: how are they going to get it? You want your character to face a seri es o f obstacles, which are increasingly challenging (otherwise it's boring). And, ideally, you want the last obstacle to be so challenging that the audience can't even imagine how the hero can overcome it. So the hero’s final triumph comes as a surprise. Poor Cinderella wants a happy life. But she can’t get it, because her step mother treats her badly. Then she wants to go to the ball, but her stepsisters destroy her dress. She goes, and m eets the Prince, and wants to stay with him, but she can’t because her magic expires at midnight. Later she wants to try on the slipper, but her stepmother hides her away. She escapes and, right as she is about to try on the slipper, it is destroyed forever. When the slipper shatters, all hope seems lost. How can Cinderella meet the Prince if she can’t even try on the slipper?

Built-In Drama It is, in theory, easy to make magic dramatic. In almost every trick there’s somebody (me) who wants something (to find your card), but I can’t (because it’s been shu ffled into the deck). H ow can I find your card when it’ s shuffled in the deck? The answer: I magically teleport the card from the deck to (surprise) my pocket. And so it requires very little to bring out the drama inherent in many tricks. All it takes is a little scripting. It doesn’t have to be a big story with a fairy god mother and lock-picking mice. But you have to make a few things clear. • Who wants something? • What do they want? • Why can’t they get it? The who can be you, the magician. It can be the spectator. It can be your uncle, in a story-script about the time he was fleeced from his life savings by a band of card sharps. You can even make it an inanimate object. Suppose you


tear a piece of paper. But the paper wants to be whole. (Like the ring in Lord of the Rings: it wants to be found.) The paper restores itself. The personification of inanimate objects has a long and very mixed history in magic. Sometimes it can be incredibly effective, while other times it seems like an insult to your intelligence. Partly this depends on your skill as a per former; but mostly it depends on whether you really believe in the story or not. This doesn’t mean you believe the story is literally true, or that you pretend it is. It just means that you believe in the story— you believe the story is mean  ingful and worth your audience’s time. To me, a card that is ambitious and wants to get to the top o f the pack is not worthy. But a piece of torn paper that wants to be whole is a story I can believe in. You may feel the exact opposite is true. Go with what you believe.

A Simple Example To illustrate how easy it can be to make your m agic more dramatic, we’ll use the climax of the trick “Gemini Twins” from the book More Self-Working Card Tricks by Karl Fulves. I’ve long felt that the easiest way for non-scripters to try scripting is to start with a trick they already know — so they’re not learning both a new script and a new trick. One o f the great things about Gemini Twins is that many magicians already know it, and if you don’t, you can learn it in about three seconds. So all your really have to learn is the script. After Adam and Eve have inserted face up cards into the deck at random positions, I spread the deck and remove the two face up cards along with the two cards they were randomly placed next to. And pause, for dramatic effect. With great anticipation, I ask Adam to look at his face down card and announce if it is, indeed, the mate of the card he inserted. And Adam says “No.” This stops me dead in my tracks. “Really?” I ask. Really. Now I turn to Eve and, with a little desperate bravado, ask her if her card is a match. It’s not. This is, within the context of a card trick, the height of drama. The predic tions don’t match. How on Earth can the magician turn this situation into a successful trick? The solution is quite simple: The magician has the spectators reveal their cards, and discovers that they each magically inserted their card next to the mate o f the other’s card. Instead o f the spectators find ing their own cards, they found each other. That’s it. No big secret, if that’s what you were hoping for. But don’t be fooled: the secret is not having the spectators find each other’s cards. The secret is understanding how the drama of the trick is structured, and how to

harness that structure to make the audience genuinely believe that you are in trouble. And, of course, you have to act as though this were in fact not all just a big setup. You must not give the slightest impress ion o f “Gotcha” or the drama will be destroyed. Emotionally, having the two spectators find each other’s cards is a stronger climax than the original had promised to be. And notice how this takes the “magician in trouble” cliche, which is commonly used as a sucker trick (which audiences generally hate, but that’s another essay) and turns it into a positive experience for both spectator and m agician. Finally, note how the fact that the climax is a sort of second chance makes the magic seem so much more real. All this requires is some care in what you say during the trick. It’s a great example of how a little bit of scripting can turn a great trick into a dramatic experience.

Happy Ending And what o f poor, poor Cinderella, staring at the glass slipper that lies in pieces on the floor? She reaches into her pocket and removes... the other glass slipper. It is a perfect match for the one that shattered, and it fits her foot per fectly. And they all lived happily ever after. At least, in the Disney version. In Ye Xian, a version from China circa 860 C.E., the evil stepmother and stepsisters are punished for their cruelty and dishonesty by being forced to spend the rest of their lives in their cave until they are crushed by a shower o f flying stones. Now that’s drama.


Gemini Twins

This is the greatest self-working impromptu card trick of the 20th century. It originally appeared in the book More Self-Working Card Tricks by Karl Fulves, and the effect is very simple: The magician takes any shuffled deck and re moves two cards. Eve takes the deck and deals cards onto the table. Any time she likes, she1stops and drops one o f the two prediction cards face up onto the pile. The deck is reassembled and Adam repeats the process to place the other prediction. The deck is spread and the two face up cards are removed, along with the cards which they were placed next to. These cards are turned up and each is right next to its mate. If you don’t already know this trick, take a moment and think how you might accomplish it. See how your method compares with “Gemini Twins,” which features: No setup, any deck, no sleights, once you remove the predic tion cards, you do not touch the deck again. Tricks like this are perfect for anyone who is just starting out scripting your magic. Self-working tricks let you focus solely on your performance. “G emini Twins” doesn’t seem like a self-working trick— there are no lame mathemati cal steps or complicated, unmotivated procedures. And it will fool anyone who doesn’t already know it— it’s not a puzzle masq uerad ing as magic. This is one o f those tricks where the spectators aren’t just passive observers, their actions are the trick. So my presentation is designed as much as possible to make them the stars of the show. To do this, I encourage the people to try to distract each other during the dealing. You would not believe the funny things people do to distract each other. This is one of those cases where the audience will automatically come up with things that are better than anything you could say on your own. If you use friends, relatives, or lovers, you’ll find out that the things they do to distract each other can be extremely revealing, which is always entertaining and frequently hilarious. Once, a woman flashed her breasts at her boyfriend in the lobby of the Magic Castle. Now, I’m not saying that this is a good reason by itself to adopt this presentation. Actually, that is pretty much what I ’m saying. An y presentation that can generate that kind of response is worth trying. This is another script that, because it’s designed to generate interaction with (and between) the spectators, will just be an example o f how the trick might go. You have to be willing and able to drop the script and engage the audience. That’s the whole point, really.

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 20?

Mate for Life by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete sits with Adam and Eve. Pete Adam, will you shuffle these? Thanks. Pete hands Adam the deck and turns to Eve. Pete Do you and Adam have a strong bond? Eve Pretty strong. Pete Okay. Well, let’s find out. (to Adam) So, is this deck thoroughly shuffled? Adam Yes. Pete takes the deck. Pete (to Eve) Is Adam generally thorough? Eve Not really. Pete Do you think you should shuffle too? Eve Yeah. Eve shuffles the deck. Pete turns to Adam.


Pete How does it make you feel, that your shuffle was inadequate? Adam My shuffle was fine. (

Pete I thought it was great. Pete takes the deck and removes two cards. He gives the Three of Clubs to Adam and the Seven of Hearts to Eve. Pete Now Eve, in a second you’re going to deal cards on the table, one at a time. Slow or fast as you like, but make a nice pile, neatness coun ts . At some point, just stop dealing. Now, to acti vate your subconscious, we have to distract your conscious mind. So I want you, Adam, to do anything you can to distract Eve while she deals. Do not actually touch her, but other than that, fair game. Pete gives Eve the deck. Pete Okay? Eve, deal until your subconscious tells you to stop. Adam, anything you like. fve deals cards while Adam distracts her. Finally she stops. Pete Okay. Adam, you can stop distracting Eve now. Thank you. Eve, take your card, turn it face up, and put it right where you stopped. Pete points to the top of the tabled pile. Eve puts her Seven of Hearts on it. Pete Put the rest of the deck on top...

Eve puts the talon on the tabled pile.

Pete ...and Adam, you take the deck. Adam picks up the deck. Pete Same rules. Deal one at a time, stop whenever. Make a nice pile, neatness counts, and would it kill you to put the toilet seat down once in a while? Eve, do whatever you can. Go. Adam deals while Eve distracts him. Finally he stops. Pete Okay. Eve, you can stop distracting Adam now. Although, you can come over and distract me any time. Adam, turn your card face up and put it right where you stopped. Adam puts his Three of Clubs on top of the tabled pile. Pete And put the rest right here. Adam puts the talon on the tabled pile. Pete Now, ever y card in th e deck has one other card t h at ’s the same n um be r and the same color. If you have the Queen of Hearts, the other red Queen is the Queen of Diamonds. Ten of Spades, Ten of Clubs. Magicians call these cards “mates.” We don’t really spend a lot of time with women. Pete spreads the deck across the table, revealing the two face up cards.

Pete

Each of you placed your card where your subconscious told you to. Pete removes Eve’s Seven of Hearts and the card next to it. He puts th em in front of Eve. Pete And Adam, likewise, you put your card here. Pete remo ves Ad am’s Three of Clubs and the ca rd next to it. Pete Now Eve, would you peek and tell me, ye s or no, did you find your card’s mate? I ve peeks at the card. Eve No. Pete Really? Eve Sorry. Pete Okay. Adam... I have two questions for you. First, did you find the mate of your card? And second, wouldn’t you agree that one out of two is still very satisfactory? Let’s start with “Did you find your mate?” Adam No. Pete Okay. (pause) Boy that distracting thing was fun, wasn’t it? Pete smacks his lips.


Pete I hate to aba nd on a trick, but with... wait—this happened once before. The co up le’s psychic co nnec tion for each other was stronger than their connection with themselves. If that happened... Pete picks up Eve’s found card and looks at it. Pete ...yes, I think, maybe... Pete picks up Adam’s found card and looks at that. Pete Yes! You found each other’s mates! Pete places the card Eve found on Adam’s face-up card, and Adam’s found card on Eve’s face-up card. They are mates. Pete You did find a mate—you found each other. That might be the biggest miracle of all.

The End

Notes on Mate for Life its script is designed for a rowdy environment, where a certain amount iisijuc behavior is not only acceptable but desirable. As you read the script, II sec a few lines that I only say if the situation is right. (For example, the r about I !ve coming over to distract me anytime.)

od I ike Bill Simon’s “Business Card Prophesy,” this trick relies on a single H|hu t of its innocent procedure going unnoticed by the audience.

Performance Fake any shuffled deck— no setup required— and remove the mates of the top .md bottom cards. Give Eve the mate of the top card, and give Adam the

bottom. Tell Eve and Adam what to do, and don’t forget to repeat the instruction s for Adam, partially because it makes the trick easier for the spectators, but m ostly Ihm ause it gives Eve time to think of something to do to distract Adam. This

Cin ^o on for a while. Don’t try to limit it— this is the trick. After both face-up cards have been placed in the face-down deck, spread the dn k across the table. Resist the temptation to have Adam or Eve do th is— the iprrad will not look as nice as the one you make. Now remove each face-up Cltrd along with the card directly above (and facing) it.

Adaptation I always have the woman deal first, with the man distracting her, for two i «\isons. I find that men are m uch more likely to take the initiative in pushin g the boundary in their effort to distract. I also find that women are more likely to respond by topping the man, if the man has already gone first. However I ain an amateur, and you may well have more real world performing experi ence than I do. Go with your instinct.

References “Gemini Twins” is in More Self-Working Card Tricks by Karl Fulves, which you can still buy. The ever-knowledgeable Max Maven inform s me that it is based on Herb Rungie’s “Hidden Mystery,” which appeared in The Jinx in March 1940.

Teller: Entering Uncharted Terrain

f you define scripting m agic as deciding how you're going to present a trick before you perform it, as I do on page 6, then I think Penn & Teller spend more time scripting magic than any other act working to day. They sit in comfortable chairs for enormous lengths of time, just talking. Occasionally they might just sit there, not talking, just thinking, for an hour. Then, in reh earsal, they work out every detail o f every presentation to the limit o f their abilities. They also have content; they have something to say. Because they don’t just sit around thinking about magic, they also think about the real world. The result is many of my favorite magic presentations: “The World’s Most Expensive Card Trick,” which they did on Saturday Night Live, spending $75,000 to fool two people. “Worms,” where worms find a polaroid instant photo of the spectator. The Torn and Restored Card in the wood chipper sec tion o f “A Salute to Recycling.” The Bible prediction, called “Quote o f the Day.” “ Silverfish ,” the Miser’ s Dream with a goldfish climax. I was particularly inter ested to talk with Teller about scripting because I knew that he had protected his signature piece “Shadow s” — a brilliant script with no dialog— by register ing it as a play. So you can only imagin e how happy I am to include the following interview with Teller, which was conducted by email. And yes, because it w as by email, Teller did not actually speak. Pete You’ve written what m ight be the most famous script in magic for your signature eff ect “S hadow s.” Do you create scripts with this same level of detail for all your ef fects? Teller At the time I was quite un known, and had heard stories about creeps who would rip off effe cts an d do them on TV, and, by sheer force of publicity, deprive the creator of his signature piece. Reading about Houdini’s success at protecting

the Water Tank by scripting it as a play got me thinking: people who tr y to paten t magic seem to have it all wrong. The actual me chanics of a trick don’t ever reach the audience; what you want to protect is the effect. So I wrote and copyrighted it as a mini-play. Fortunately, it’s never become a question. 1 guess people who see Shadows sense how deeply it is mine and respect that. Or may be they’ve heard fanciful stories about how much the Hell’s Angels enjoy Penn & Teller, and how ea gerly they’d break the fingers of

body they caught vio la ti ng integrity of our work. ry bit in our repertoire has a I, written script, and many have

n videotaped, all of which, r l.iwyers advise us, would adliately establish our precedence it legal case. Pete yond legal protection, how imrtant is scripting to your develment process? If there were no wyers, w ould every bit in your pertoire still have a full, written •utpt?

"Liftoff to Love" we wrote the song with com poser G ary Sto ckdale and composed the physical routine all simultaneously in the shop, since every action needed to work in perfect sync with the music. So, with some variatio n, we cr ea te the bit, then record it in script form rather than the other way around. Pete So it sounds like you create a de tailed script for each effect in re hearsal, you just don’t actually write it up as such until later. How many hours of rehearsal be fore you write a script? Also, how many people are participating in this rehearsal?

Teller Wts, but after the fact. While we Write our books and articles by Teller Ittting at a computer, we write our We “create ” it, y es, but what I Itage pieces by running through meant to say is that—although there are occa them beginning sions in which lo end over and We dorit turn ideas there is “writ in over again ing down” be rehearsal and into Penn & Teller. fore and during p e r fo r m a n c e , We are Penn & Teller. the rehearsals and creating the (another one of words an d ac these exceptions is “Iron Come tions by talking and doing. The s( i ipt is ge n er al ly a rec ord of the dian” because the cues had to be v ery specif ic )— th e w ri ting dow n bit more than its genesis. usually comes afterwards, except I here are ex cep tio ns . “Animal insofar as is ne ce ssar y for the tech I rap s” be gan as a p ure, written people to know their cues. piece of Penn’s. The p rem ise— takstuff out of a trap without be Rehearsal “cast” varies quite a bit ing hurt—was his image. But all at different stages. They start with the specifics, the gradual building the two of us in a room “mocking” of the sandwich, the trapeze, etc. our way thorough it, but quickly were my fan ta sy on his w ord s. involve the observation of Nate, I he song “D om estication of An i our Director of Covert Activi mals” existed before the whole ties, and various members of our balloon animal routine. But in crew. There is no big “division of


labor” wall in our organization; (“Honor System") In 1975 and first we bounce id eas o ff— an d accept staged it in 2001. ideas from—everybody, our Di rector of Covert Activities, our Pete Stage Manager, two of our for An d do you keep develo pin g each mer Directors of Covert Activi piece even after it’s premiered, ties (one of whom now is our crew or do you pretty much get things boss, the other designs our sets), locked down and they stay consis the shop workers, friends in the tent? area (especially Johnny Thomp son and Michael Goudeau), dis Teller tant friends (especially Jamy Ian Depends on the piece. Some stay Swiss, Todd Robbins, and Billy quite consistent (e.g., “Shadows”), McComb). At times Paul Provenza others are rewritten top to bottom and others have come in to “di (“Houdini Seance Opera,” “Zamofo rect” as we work. We really have the Gorilla Girl.”) little fear and much appreciation of the involvement of others, be Pete cause our vision is strong enough So what was it that took “Honor that we’d know if we were be System” so long to finish? By the ing steered the wrong way. w ay I saw th is in LA la st year, but I kept my eyes closed until you One of our rehearsal techniques, were out. What is the “first h alf” of once we’re well under way and this piece? devising staging, is to have other members of our company play us Teller on stage while we watch from the All we had was the concept of house. That really helps us get a keeping the eyes closed. We didn’t feel for the blocking. We never use have a trick to go with it. It was vid eo ta pe fo r reh earsal on the live ju st a couple years ago th at I real show, because video tells you only ized that an escape was the per what lo oks an d feels good on TV. fect complement, and adapted the We do, however, use it when w e’re “lead-lined-box” from the Houdini prepping a TV bit. notebooks to our nested plexi and wood. Pete How long typically p asse s between Pete the day you first begin working on What w as the piece that on ly to ok an effect in rehearsal until the day two weeks, and what made that you fi rs t perf orm it live? one so fast? Teller Between two weeks and twenty-six years. It is lite rally true th at we thought of the first half of a piece

Teller TV pieces often have to be done that fast or faster. Seems to me “The World’s Most Expensive Card

trick" was about two weeks start

lo finish. Pete &c> wh en you create a stage piece, do you specify every single word, movement, and gesture, or do you Create a general outline which gives you the freedom to impro vis e in performance?

Pete So where do the ideas come from? Yo u’ve said that what tu rn s you off about most magic today is the lack of content. How do you and Penn create the content that you then develop?

Teller We read , and se e th in gs, and ta lk to people. We look for ideas in our lives. We sit and drink hot decaf Teller feinated beverages and talk and In performance and in rehearsal. listen to each other. We take things Rehearsal is a big important step In the writing; it’s not repetition we fe el str ongly ab ou t (thing s that thrill us, out of a script, it’s We take things rage us, give us working ou t all chills) and try to the details. wefeel strongly about incarnate these (things that thr ill us, ideas and im Pete outrage us, give us chills) ages. There is no So would you formula. recommend this and try to incarnate detailed, rethese ideas and images. Pete hearsal-driven There is noformula. Perhaps a specif d e v e lo p m e n t ic example then, process to other aspiring magicians, or is it some since there’s no formula. Let’s take “Honor System.” In 1975 you had thing unique to you and Penn? Did you develop material this way the concept of the audience keep ing their eyes closed. What did when you were w ork in g solo? you find co m pellin g in that idea, and how did you set about try Teller The advantage to “writing” in re ing to translate that into Penn & hearsal (and rewriting in perfor Teller? Or more generally, where mance) is that you get the feel of do you start turning an idea into how the wo rds and actions actua lly a showpiece? go together, which is quite impor Teller tant in magic. It’s quite easy to sit .it a computer keyboard and type What did we find com pellin g? It away at plausible things that just seemed a good statement of some thing that’s not readily stated don’t work when you test them in in any other form. That bit does reality—and that goes for speech so many things. It contrasts two as well as action. w ays of vie w in g the world, and ar gues that things that are hurtful in


the world (keeping yourself in the dark) can be beautiful in a theater. It argues that taking home a riddle from a magic show is taking home som ething that will stick with you, like a melody. It shows you how si multaneously fascinating and dis app ointing se crets are. And it does it all in a light, funny way. We don ’t turn id eas in to Penn & Teller. We are Penn & Teller. When we ge t id eas they’re suit able for us. There is no “turning into.”

Pete

What perc enta ge o f the audie nce still has their eyes closed when you com e out of the box? Or is It ju st me? Teller I think there are only a handful that keep their eyes closed. It takes great self-control. The ones who do it are ve ry , very in te re st ing people. Pete So in both “Honor System” and “Polyester,” you started with a presentational conceit and then searched—for years!—to find the right trick. Do you also start with tricks you like and look for pre sentations? What guides this deci sion for you?

Pete Fair enough. But you’ve said that it was 26 years between this basic idea and the premiere. What hap pened during those 26 years? Did you try oth er tric ks as w ays to ex plore these same ideas? Or did the Ar t is real only basic idea sit in when it enters the back of your uncharted terrain. mind until you thought—an es I f you dont enter it with cape!

Teller I’d prefer the word “idea.” The real idea behind each of these your heart pounding, tricks is the go elsewhere. Teller thing we start Yes. Mating the ed with. Find idea of an escape with the idea ing the trick was like find of the closed eyes is an idea that ing the words to express it. took 26 years to come across the threshold. Same thing in our There is no rigid pattern. Stan Polyester trick. For at least fifteen islavsky used to tell his students years we wanted to do a trivial to start with which ever part of magic trick and claim it was a reli the script seemed bright and at gious miracle. It wasn’t until I read tractive to them, then gradually David P. Abbott’s version of the find their way from that part to Turban trick that we had a trick the rest of the play. With my ver that was sufficiently (a) trivial and sion of the East Indian Needles, I pointless and (b) stageworthy and started with the photo of Houdini (c) baffling to fill the role of the doing the trick, then decided I’d “miracle.” have to figure out a way for a non-

Iking person to do It. When we (I World’s Heaviest Card trick" the David Letterman show, we itrted with Letterm an’s re quest at we do som eth in g big. Then we (ailed a vision we had of making ftn entrance on forklifts. Then we got the notion of the giant metal Cards. Other things came as a sin gle bolt all at once, idea and trick together (e.g. the upside down bit On

Saturday Night Live).

Pete I've just gone back and reread what we have so far, an d I m ust say it’s a fascinating glimpse into your w ork in g p rocess. I can’t than k you enou gh for ta kin g the time to discuss everything so freely, and I hope you r exam ple serv es as an inspiration to everyone read ing this, as your magic has in spired me all these years.

Before I go, let me as k you one last question: If you were writing a book about Scripting Magic, what is the one most important thing y o u ’d wan t to com m unic ate ? Teller Art is real only when it ente rs un charted terrain. If you don’t enter it with your heart pounding, go elsewhere, until you feel the little hairs standing up on the back of your neck. Then you kn ow y ou ’re there.

The End

There was a wonderful feeling of play—hey, we can do it , were free! And then we became slightly more self conscious about thatfreedom as time went on, and we began to think, Where do we gofrom here? You cant always have sketches aboutflying sheep— you have to move on. Where are theyflying to?

Michael. Palin SCRIPTING MAGIC [ 219

Scriptwriting: The Back story Every story has a backstory. The backstory is what happened before we the audience start watching. Vir tually all scriptwriters consider the backstory of everything they write. Sonic go to incredible lengths, writing biographies for their characters and scenes that never appear in the final script. But even the on es that don’t go this far still think about what happened before the script begins. One of the most basic principles of drama is that the story you see is the end of a much larger arc of action. Just think of Star Wars; the original episode begins at the end of such a sweeping arc it took three movies to tell the backstory. Even in cases where you never learn the specifics o f a character's backstory, like the classic western Shane, you know he ha s one. So, think about the backstory of your magic. To do that, you have to figure out what it is, obviously. You're going to have to make some choices, answer some questions. But you also have to figure out what angle you are going to take. What questions are you going to ask? For example: the magical power you have— how did you get it? Were you born with it? Did someone teach you? If so, who, and how long did it take? Who taught the person who taught you? Who invented the technique? How did you learn it? Did you discover a secret manuscript, lo these many years ago? Where did you find it — was it hidden, or was it just misplaced, and fell into the possession o f som eone who didn't appreciate what it was? Maybe one day you needed money so desperately that you imagined you had a coin, and when you opened your eyes, it was real. And i f so, what made you need the money? Maybe you’re not presenting the trick as “m agic” — maybe you’re just doing a trick. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but how did you learn it? Who taught it to you? When did you first see it? W ho else perform ed it before you? And your pro ps— where did they come from ? The local drugstore? Your grandfather? A yard sale at a haunted house? The estate of Harry Houdini? You don’t have to include your backstory in the script. But think about it, and say it out loud, and write it down. And then, make your presentation consistent with the backstory. That way the presentation will have a unity that strengthens its individual aspects into a consistent whole; even i f the audience doesn’t know what the theme is, they can tell that there is one. One nifty trick a lot of screenwriters use is to have a character refer to some event from the backstory, without explaining what it is or even what the reference means.

. in Star Wars, Ben Kenobi mentions that Darth Vader fought with Luke's ther in the Cl on e Wars, but w e don’t learn what that means (until four mov-

later). The next two scripts demonstrate different ways to add backstory to make r magic stronger. The first is a charming script by Michael Ammar, which Mis its own backstory. Then comes Guy Hollingworth’s elegant presentation foi the “Open Prediction,” which connects itself to a historical event that took Mace some 3,2 00 years ago.

ichael Ammar is one of the most successful magicians alive, both as a creator and teacher o f magic and as a performer. Mi chael and I worked together long before we met in person. He was the star o f a corporate video I wrote for Erie Insurance. I wrote the script and Michael did the magic. I saw Michael teach this trick you are about to read in a lecture at the A-i Convention at the Capital in 19 9 7— long before I had any idea to write this book. But when it came time for me to solicit contributions from other ma gicians, I remembered it clearly. That's just one of the benefits of a great script— it makes your performance memorable. Another benefit o f scripting which this script vividly demonstrates is that you can take an incredibly sim ple trick— three coins vanish into a thumbtip— and turn it into so mething that is not only mysterious, but also strongly communicates the performer's char acter. Michael taught this trick on video, but neither the trick nor the script have ever appeared in print before. Than k you, Michael.

Grandpa’s Coins by Michael Ammar Int Theater—Evening —

Michael stands at his performing table. Michael I get to show you something very near and dear to my heart this time. Michael takes out a small, old-fashioned drawstring bag and turns to Alex. Michael May I ask you to hold out your hand for me? Michael pours four coins from the bag into Alex’s hand. Michael I’ll bet you haven’t seen some of those for a while, have you? Can you recognize what those are? Alex Some of them. Michael Mercury dime, buffalo nickel, that’s an Indian head penny, and that’s one of the old quarters. I’m not sure what they used to call the old quarters. I got these from my grandfather. Forty-one cents here. Very old quarter, very old dime, very old nickel, very old penny. Michael takes the coins from Alex and lays them on the table. Michael When I was younger my grandfather would tell me a story, and I’ve inherited the coins he would use to illustrate that story. To keep his memory alive, I will

SCRIPTING MAGIC |

tell you that story the exact same way he shared it with me so many years ago. Michael lays the coins in a row on the table. Michael He would get the grandkids around, sit them in a circle, and say... Michael pushes the quarter forward and switches into his “grandfather” voice. Michael A quarter. The average person lets a quarter of their time run t hrough their fingers like water, without realizing it’s their life they’re wasting. Now killing time’s not a simple crime—it’s murder. If you’re going to kill time, why not work it to death? Michael draws the quarter back, and pushes out the dime. Michael A dime. It stands half as tall as a nickel, bu t it’s wo rt h twice as much. Same thin g’s true of a lot of people. Never judge by appearan ces alone. The dime goes back, the nickel comes out. Michael One of these four coins is a buffalo nickel. At least one of every four people is full of bull. Don’t you be one of them. Nickel back, pe nny out. Michael Now if this penny could talk it would say: save me. Save me. Because pennies make nickels, and nickels make dimes; dimes make quarters, and quarters make dollars. The average person spends their money, and saves wha t’s left. You do the opposite:

save your money first, then spend what’s left. But don’t be like the person who spends their whole life counting their money. Michael picks up the coins one at a time and puts them in his fist.

Michael Twenty-five, thirty-five, forty, forty-one cents. Michael Because the person who revolves their whole life around counting their money, may end up with a little bit of money... Michael removes the penny. Michael ...and a life that’s worth nothing, lie opens his hand—the quarter, dime, and nickel are gone. Michael But as long as you live, study how to live, and money will come to you... He puts the penny back in the hand. Michael ...to play in your backyard... Michael begins to pull the missing coins out of his hand. Michael ...just to see what kind of person you are. The row of coins is restored to the table. Michael returns to his normal voice. Michael He would always end the same way. Michael puts the nickel, dime, and penny in his pocket.


Michael

He would take the quarter, and blow, and change that quarter into a piece of pepperm int. Michael blows on the quarter and it changes into a peppermint candy. Michael And to this day, I can’t eat a piece of peppermin t without thinking of my grandfather.

Notes on Grandpa's Coins you art* having trouble getting your audiences to like you, you m ight want give this script a try. If you can’t get audiences to like you using this script, i t know what you can do. Any per former, o f any age, can perform this script for any audience o f any , and make a connection with them. How many scripts can you say that t? thod

Start with the thumbtip in your left hand. As you put the coins into the left . the quarter, dime, and nickel go into the thumbtip, and the penny goes tside the tip, next to the ball of the false thumb. Then, wh en you remove the penny, your thumb automatically steals the tip, leaving the left hand empty. For the reproduction, do the same in reverse. Put the penny in the fist, leaving the tip. Then begin pulling the coins from the tip, taking the penny— and the

tip with it — last. When you put the penny, nickel, and dime in your pocket, ditch the tip and steal the candy. Michael changes the quarter into the candy with the Bobo switch, but you can use any good (i.e., well-practiced) switch.

Adaptation When Michael taught this trick at the convention, all the coins vanished but the quarter, and this is how he did it on the video. (The original handling was i reated by Professor Putter as an ungaffed version of a dealer item where all the coins nest into the quarter.) At some point I changed it so that I ended up with just the penny, vanishing the quarter, dime, and nickel. It just felt stron ger to end up with a penny, having lost the other forty cents, than to end up with twenty-five cents having lost sixteen. In preparing this book I learned that Michael had already made the same exact change, so this is the most up-to-date version o f this script.

References This trick is on Volume 1 o f Michael's Easy-to-Master Money Miracles video. For any of Michael's tricks, you can visit www .ammarmagic.com or any magic dealer in the world. Well, there may be a magic dealer somewhere who doesn't carry any of Michael's products, but I don't know where.

The Open Prediction

I

never liked this trick. Basically, it boils down to this: the magician sayi

“I’m going to have you choose a card, and I’m going to make you pit k

the Two of Diamonds.” And then, does so. The problem I have with this is, announcing the prediction in advance gives away the ending. When

you reveal that the selected card is in fact the one you predicted, the au di ence m ay be fooled— or more accurately, may not know how you forced the* selection— but they are never surprised. The en ding is not just predictable, it’s obvious. For my money, obvious is the worst thing a magic trick — or any form o f entertainment, for that matter— can be. And then I read Guy Hollingworth’s remarkable book, Drawing Room De ceptions, whose final chapter concludes with the following presentation. You might have m issed it if, like every other mag ician in the world, you opened the book directly to the Epilogue, which reveals the secret o f “The Reform ation.” If so, that’s a shame, because this is a great presentation. It has an intrigu ing setup and an irresistible hook, which misdirects attention away from the key points in the process. An d best of all, the structure makes the ending com pletely unexpected. Whether you use this presentation or not, it’s an object les son in how to take an problematic card trick and turn it into an intrig uing and deeply mysterious experience for the spectators. The final moment produces a profou nd sense o f the same “ Inevitable Surprise” that Jamy Ian Sw iss writes about in “I’ve Got A Surprise for You” on page 379.

it* Cassandra Quandary by Guy Hollingworth lint

Draw ing Room— Evening

feuy si,s across a table from Eve. Guy I wonder if you have ever heard the name Cassandra. Cassandra was a tragic figure from classical mythology, who was cursed in a terrible way: despite the fact that, being a prophetess , she could foresee the future, it was destined that no one would ever believe her prophesies. Therefore, although she could see impending disasters, although she would try to warn people so they might avoid their terrible fate, they would never believe her, and she was forced to look on as catastrophe befell those people whom she loved. The greatest of these tragedies was the fall of her city of Troy, even though she tried to warn the Trojans that the wooden horse was not a gift but a trick devised by the Greeks to win the city. As we now know, this was of course the truth, although she was dismissed and mocked for her absurd idea. Guy brings out a brand new pack of cards and removes the plastic wrapping. Guy It is my intention to make a prophecy; I will foretell what is going to be. That is, someone will take a pack of cards and will make a series of very fair choices, whereby they will eliminate cards until they are left with only one. At each juncture they will be offered the chance to change their mind, until eventually one card is left, and that card will be the Two

of Diamonds. Remember that: the Two of Diamonds. Guy addresses Eve. Guy Eve, will you come and sit to my right? You will play Fate, to my Cassandra. To make matters as fair as possible, 1have a brand new pack, which you can see contains every card, with no duplicates. Guy spreads the deck across the table for Eve to examine. Guy Please shuffle the cards thoroughly. Eve picks up the deck and begins shuffling. Guy However, despite what I have said, and despite the fact that the process will be very fair, it is possible that some of you still believe me; after all you know that I am a conjuror, and although you may not be able to conceive how such a thing could be possible, you may nevertheless still hold an inkling of belief that what 1have said will happen. But if it were Cassandra who had made the prophecy, not one of you would believe it. I will therefore make it impossible for you to believe me, by removing the only Two of Diamonds from the pack, so that there is no way Eve can possibly choose that card. Guy brings out a small stack of envelopes and hands one to Eve. He runs through the deck and removes the Two of Diamonds. Guy Eve, will you please seal the Two of Diamonds inside the envelope. Eve inserts the Two of Diamonds in the envelope and seals it.

Guy And please sign the envelope for verification. Evo signs her name on the envelope.

Guy You would now be fools to believe my prophecy, as there is no way that it can possibly come true, but no netheless, I will continu e as I stated, with the process of elimination. (.uy cuts the pack in half. Guy Will you please point to either packet. Ive chooses a packet. Guy Would you like to change your mind? Eve No. Guy Very well. We see that you have eliminated a multitude of random cards. Guy picks up the eliminated cards and shows them. He then cuts the selected packet in half. Guy Again, will you please choose either packet. Eve chooses a packet. Guy Would you like to change your mind? Eve No.


Guy picks up the eliminated cards and shows them. He then cuts the remaining packet in half. [This process of elimination is repeated until there are only two cards left.] Guy Now this is the final choice, and you may deliberate as long as you wish. Please eliminate one card. Eve selects the final card to be eliminated. Guy This card would have been your chosen card, had you not eliminated it. Guy shows that the final eliminated card is yet another random card. Guy It is impossible for anyone to know the identity of that card. In fact the only thing that we know about that card is that it cannot possibly be the Two of Diamonds, because that is inside the envelope that you are holding. Eve, will you please tear open the envelope and take a look inside. Eve tears open her signed envelope. Eve It’s empty! Guy turns his attention slowly to Eve’s final selected card. He turns it over. It’s the Two of Diamonds. The End

Notes on The Cassandra Quandary 11

le legend o f Cassandra is a lovely setting for this effect. But it is the step o f

moving the predicted card before the selection process that turns this from puzzle into a truly magical experience. It produces the wonderful moment where the audience, realizing that the envelope is empty, turns to look at the •election and realizes that it must be the prophesied card, just before you re veal that it is. It is mom ents like these that people rem ember. Magically this is extremely powerful. Where would even the most analytical spectator begin? How did the Two of Diamonds vanish? How did it get back into the deck? And how did the incredibly fair selection process lead unerr ingly to it? Guy’s handling for this trick will be discussed briefly, so you can see how it lines up with the script. It is far too challenging for most magicians to perform with confidence. And, as Guy says “the method is rather unimportant, the plot being what intrig ues.” I f you want the full story on Gu y’s method, please read Drawing Room Deceptions. Since you are reading this book, which has no illustrations whatsoever, I will assume that you are the kind of literate magician who reads books. In that case you will definitely wan t to read Gu y’s book, which, aside from including an excellent selection of magic, is extremely well written. Method Guy gaffs a stack of envelopes to serve as a shell that can hold a half deck. (See Guy’s book for construction details and pictures of this gaff.) Load that with 26 duplicates o f the Two o f Diamonds. You’ll need an unop ened deck for each show. After introducing the pack, and having Eve remove the Two o f Diamonds, Guy brings out the stack of envelopes and gives one to Eve. At this point he cops the 26 duplicates from the shell, and adds them to the deck. While the audience is watch ing Eve put the Two of Diamonds in the envelope, G uy cops away half of the original deck, and loads it into the stack-of-envelopes shell, which he then removes from play. Guy now removes his pen, in the process stealing a duplicate envelope from inside his jacket, holding it in Tenkai palm. He takes Eve’s envelope and adds his own envelope on top o f it, then (depending on the angles) either cops away the lower envelope or performs a Miracle Change, which brings the lower envelope into Tenkai palm. The switched-out envelope is ditched returning the pen to the pocket.


Let’s see, gambler's cop half a deck — twice — then do a barehand switch of an envelope, with two Tenkai palms and a miracle change. It's hard enough for me to even write down this ha nd ling— I could never perform it with con fidence in front of an audience. Guy now goes into the elimination process, in which he cuts the deck and asks Eve to indicate one half, after which the non-eliminated packet is recut, Eve chooses again, etc. Only the first of these choices needs to be controlled; Guy has already mentioned that Eve will "eliminate” all but one card, so no matter which pile Eve touches, Guy can pick up the non-force half and say “You have eliminated a multitude o f random card s.” After this, all the remain ing cards are Two o f Diamonds, so if the pile Eve’s chose in the first round was elim inated, Guy eliminates the selected pile in each o f the remaining phases (and vice versa). Either way each selection is interpreted the same way throughout, which cancels the theory of magician’s choice from the cogno scenti. After the second go-round o f the selection process, Guy takes the second pile o f eliminated cards (which are all Two o f Diamonds) and drops them onto the first, indifferent pile, then turns the entire packet face up, showing a few cards Eve might have ended up with. Subsequent eliminated packets go on top o f the face-down deck. While Eve is mak ing the final selection, Guy side steals any rand om card from the bottom hal f o f the deck to the top, then picks up the final eliminated card (another 2D), does a top change, and shows the final card that might have been selected. I think this pretty much sums up the difference between Guy Hollingworth and ordinary mortals— he would do a side steal and a top change to add this one additional level of conviction.

Adaptation You could use this presentation without actually mentioning Cassandra, saying that you are always right but no one ever believes you. Actually, this could be a terrific runn ing gag throughout your entire act— everyone has felt this way at some point in their life, and this m ot if can be integrated into many classic magical effects. But that’s not why you’re reading this section— you want a method for this trick that doesn’t require you to be Guy Hollingworth. Since I, like you, am not Guy Hollingworth, I worked out the following, which is really quite natural, convincing, fun, and easy.

Pete's Handling Set up by taking a small stack of slightly-larger-than-playing-card-sized en-

v r l o | K * s ,

address side up. Take a duplicate Two of Diamonds and put it below

the stack, face down. Put a rubber band around the stack and put it in your

p
your pocket. Spread the deck face up for Eve to remove the Two of Diamonds. Take the stac k o f envelopes from your pocket, keep ing the Two away from the audience,

and remove the rubber band. Do a double turnover of the top two envelopes,

put the Two in the top envelope, then do another double turnover and put the top envelope on the table for Eve to sign. If you can overcome most m agicians’ tendency to do double turnovers with unnecessary care and precision, this can be very natural and psychologically invisible. Make some comment about how you want Eve to address the enve lope, which motivates the action of turning the envelope over to the address side. You can trim the third envelope from top a little narrow, which makes the double turnover almost automatic. Alternately, use a top change, as per Guy’s suggestion. Mostly, do not handle the stack of envelopes like a deck of cards. Once the envelope is signed, direct Eve to pick up the deck, verify there is no Two of Diamonds, shuffle (or not), and then deal cards onto the table in a pile, one by one, stopping any time. While this is going on, don’t hold the envelopes up at waist height; let them drop to your side. When Eve is finished, lean forward as you ask Eve to turn over the undealt cards, to see the other cards that might have ended up as the selection, etc. As Eve is turning the un dealt cards face up, your left hand touches the pile of dealt cards and unloads the force card on top. This is a great force. It’s extremely fair, and can withstand you calling atten tion to its fairness. I’ve never seen another magician u se it, probably because it’s exactly the kind of force that doesn’t appeal to magicians. It’s too simple and easy, and not new and clever, and depends almost entirely on your ability to act casual. These characteristics are what make this such a great force. It’s particularly well-suited to this effect, since Eve looks throu gh the deck, removes the Two of Diamonds, verifies there are no other Twos of Diamonds, and then moves directly to dealing the cards, without you touching the deck. Eve’s conviction that the selection will not be the Two of Diamonds could hardly be higher. So, Eve shows the undealt cards, you talk about how any o f them could have been the selected card, and now you very fairly move the last card dealt (i.e., the force card) off the pile to the side o f the table, then turn over the rest o f the dealt cards, to show that any of them could have been chosen as well. Gather these cards and put them aside, so the selected card is the only card in play.

SCRIPTING MAGIC j 235

Have Eve open the envelope, to discover that it is empty. Turn over the se lected card, which is the prophesied Two of Diamonds. To reset, take the switched-out Two of Diam onds from the top envelope and put it back under the stack. One nice feature o f this m ethod— aside from the fact that I can actually do it— is that the deck begins and ends clean; the force Two o f Diamonds replac es the one in the switched-out envelope. Not only that, but the deck is clean throughout; if Eve drops the deck, or accidentally flips it face up, or even grabs it and looks through it in the middle of the selection process, no problem.

References “The Cassandra Quandary” is in Drawing Room Deceptions by Guy H olling worth, Mike Caveney’s Magic Words, 19 99. I first learned the envelope force in “The Eternal Card Force” from Penn & Teller’s How to Play in Traffic, Boulevard Books, 1997. It is usually credited to Richard Himber, but Max Maven tracked it back to Walter Gibson’s “A Spirit Card Trick” in Two Dozen Effective Practical Card Tricks, 1927, and found that the basic idea is older: Donald Holmes’ “Marvelous Prediction” in New Card Tricks, 1913.

Rafael Benatar: The Practice of Magic

I

n addition to being one of the world’s suavest magicians and an accom plished au thor— not to mention the ranking English-language transla tor of magic written in S pa nish— Rafael Benatar is a world-class lute player. Rafael was the first person to get a lute degree from the Guildhall

Sc hool of Music and Drama in London. When I read a fascinating article in (irnii magazine about Rafael’s mu sic background, I asked him if he would nhare some o f his thoughts about what he has learned from m us ic— and what magicians can learn from mu sicians— when it comes to practicing. 1 think practice is an often overlooked aspect of magic, and I strongly urge everyone to benefit from Rafael’s experience (and his generosity). I’ve found that scripting my magic has enhanced the time I spend practicing, and I think

if you follow Rafael’s suggestions you’ll get more value out of your practice, spending your time where it’s most needed. It’s easier to see your progress when you’re working on a consistent presentation— whether it’s scripted to the letter or just a basic structure or hook. So you’ll automatically start taking it more seriously. Better magic deserves better practice. Before we start, let me say that this interview was not conducted in a single session, or for that matter in any kind of organized fashion whatsoever. It be gan by email, and then we were able to get together in the Magic Castle library for part of it, and we finished by email. So first, thanks to Rafael for putting up with this schizophrenic process. And second, if this interview doesn’t seem entirely coherent, it is not El Matador’s fault. Pete You sa id in Genii that you had an advantage coming into magic from music. Rafael Rather than an advantage, I meant I was better off than starting from scratch. The first thing is disci pline. It might take people years to discover that something you can’t do, you can become able to do through practice. Sometimes I’m facin g a ch allen ge — like say, a difficult passage in a music

piece—and I wonder if I’ll ever be able to play it. Then I begin to practice and, often sooner than expected, I realize I can. Some people never practice enough to discover that wonderful feeling. Pete It took me years to appreciate this. I would start to learn a move, because I saw someone do it and it looked great. And I would prac tice it a little, but it didn’t look all that great. And so I would switch to a different move, and practice

SCRIPTING MAGIC [ 23?

that a little, but it didn’t look great either. I kept learning more and more variations of moves, looking for the one that will look great.

price to pay. It’s not even a price if you enjoy practicing. Practice is well rew arded. Pete I alwa ys think people und eres  timate the value of working on something a little bit every day for years.

Rafael But the reason the move doesn’t look great isn’t the move. If you think of it, probably all moves have been invented for a purpose. Then they “exist” as moves. You Rafael can take from what exists but cus I learned French in the bathroom, tomize it for your purpose. Blend and German on the bus. Every so it into your routine, into your often I would switch the books. natural actions, or create a struc It’s more difficult to get round to ture around it. Don’t just think things than it is to continue, to that it will fly because it’s an es get carried away. I mean if you can tablished move and you can do it practice for ten minutes, you’ll get fairly well. The Corinda book, as enthusiastic and might go for an a whole, teaches a great lesson hour or two easily. So, if you are in this regard. If you care enough ju s t determ in ed to do th ose ten and work on the move you need, minutes, two things can happen: you w ill have the best versio n of you eit her get carrie d aw ay and it, for you and your purpose. The practice a lot more, or if not, well, w ork in vested in d evelo pin g it will you did you r ten m in utes w hich is get better rewards than learning already something. Also, ten min all moves that are out there for ac utes today and ten tomorrow is complishing the same basic goal. often better than twenty minutes at once. There must be a lot of Pete stuff going on in your sleep. When You have to be in it fo r the long I practice something technical at term. night for any length of time, that thing is always circling in my head Rafael w hen I w ak e up the next da y. An in te resting w ay to realize what practice has done for you is: look Pete at somebody who is learning his When Thom as Edison w as w orkin g first skills in card magic. Make a on a hard prob lem — like, say, in rough estimate of the hours yo u’ve ven tin g th e ligh t bulb or the pho spent practicing in your life, and no gra ph — he would take a nap at think of the fact that those are the his workbench with his hand hold hours that have taken you from ing a steel ball over a metal plate. there (beginner) to wherever you When he dropped off to sle ep, the are now. The hours will never ball would fall on the plate and seem too many. It is not a high wak e him up. He w ante d to get

Mi

that jus t-b ar ely unc on sciou s inode, so his brain could work things out without his conscious mind slowing him down. Rafael How interesting! And a bit of a tor ture, too. I have, more than once, fallen asleep in a train with a deck of cards in my hand, but it doesn’t fall. I gu ess T ho m as use d a “re al” zombie ball. In art, it is not easy to measure results but at some point I was learnin g the ba sics of threehall juggling, counting how many ( ytle s I could do, which is som e thing easily measurable. At some point the best I could do was six ( ycles and I got stuck. Could not go past it. The next day I woke up ,md did seven. And this happened more times. 1 had never seen it so ( learly. So I figured the same mu st be happening with the things that
fore, if the guitar is more impor tant to you, or equally important, you com pensate fo r th is by doing what you can to make it easie r for you to get started: Set it on a stand, keep it in tune, put it in your livin g room, w hatever m ak es it easier. Needless to say, this eas ily translates to magic and props. Pete I think that’s one reason why people do card tricks. It’s easy to ju s t grab a dec k. If you wan t to do y our bill sw itch , your thum b tip is in the drawer, the bills are in your w allet in the livin g ro om ... Rafael Exactly. So if you’re working on a bill switch, have the bills you need at hand, easily accessible. Now, if you practice only like that, y o u ’re not gett in g the pra ct ice of sitting down seriously, working on tricks, actually rehearsing how you present th in gs, the sta gin g of your trick. Doing the moves is ju s t gett in g acquain te d with the props. It’s like taking batting prac tice for a ballplayer, doing scales for a musician, or jumping rope for a boxer. It’s an essential aspect of practice. Then there are other stages, like routine plays in base ball, practicing passages from a Mozart sonata, or sparring with a partner. Pete That seem s to be a problem unique to magic. In music, there’s much less practice as separate from re hearsal. But I guess a musician


isn’t “performing” in the same way as a magician. Rafael I think you are performing to the same extent. Performances may be more or less formal. Even during a single performance, there are mo ments that appear casual and oth ers that appear planned. In magic, the casual-looking moments are useful for concealing stuff. That’s the only difference, but from the audience’s point of view it’s all the same.

to any performance of anythl Once you set the mood, then I about not breaking it. And you c break it by dropping out of char* ter, or by a technical hesitation o some constructional discrepancy, Pete In m usic, I sup po se, you drop out of character by playing a wrong note.

Rafael In magic, too. In his book, Ascanio w rites “The chie f re quir em ent for a maximum effect, for achieving the Pete magical atmosphere, is flawless My friend Stu Malina is a con technique. This doesn’t mean all ductor, and he told me about the magicians who achieve this magi importance of “the beat before cal atmosphere are first-class tech the music.” The nicians, but it idea is that be does mean they Somepeople never fore the piece use only those practice enough starts, you are moves they have to discover that already in what mastered.” Espe ever mood—or cially if you ac wonderful feeling. character, atmo knowledge your sphere, what mistake or apol ever—that you’re going to be in ogize in some way. It often hap during the piece. You can’t start it pens in magic. If something goes up at the same time as you start wro ng, an d th ere are colleagues the piece itself. Even if it’s just an present, some magicians tend instant before. I think that can be to throw an apologetical look, or true of magic. sometimes even worse than that, in order to let them know that they Rafael are better than that. But I think Als o at the en d o f the perfo rm ance, y o u ’re bett er if you don ’t acknow l there is a silence that’s part of it. edge your mistakes and carry on There is an avant garde guitar and find your way around them in piece by Leo Brouwer with the in your nee d to m ain ta in th e atm o dication “At the end, remain still, sphere you have created. in silence, for six seconds.” The piece is not over when you strike Pete the last chord. And this pretty I think the key is that you main much applies to every piece or tain the atmosphere. You can ac-


w! edge that something has pened— don ’t ig nore the ba, .is lonathan Levit sa y s— but hin character. Even a true wizcan miss from time to time, t It has to be that—your magiI power has failed. If you drop trader and respond as though v tuck has failed, you lose the tmosphere. Rafael It depends on the nature of the mistake. If you make a small mis take that doesn’t screw up the whole thing, you should keep go

ing and ignore it. Some colleague may suspec t something happened, but chances are that the whole au dience will ignore it if you ignore It you rself . I’m speakin g of a m is  take equivalent to playing a wron g note. I mean sometimes the au dience finds out something went wrong because the p erf orm er acknowledged it, and that’s what should not happen. If something is really obvious then you deal with it. I pre fer to acknow ledge w hat comes from the outside, i.e., the lights went out or there is a noise, a heckler, whatever. If it’s a techni cal mistake I’ll try to fix it even if I have to “land” on another trick, or make a witty remark that tells the audience you’re admitting your mistake but you’re not acknowl edging it. For example: “... So the other player had nothing in his hand while I got the four Aces... Well, ju st th re e th is time, w hic h is enough to win, without putting your opponent do wn too m uch.” This happened to me only last night. Then, while people laughed,

I managed to fix it and switch the wro ng card fo r the m is sing Ace fo r a later transformation. Pete What hav e you learn ed from m u sic that helps you master sleight of hand? Rafael If you are able to do a sleight w hile humming, mmm mmm mmm, without changin g the uniform tone of your hum, it should be pretty good. Do it, say, twenty tim es— or a number of times you decide, but counting with matches, playing cards, whatever. Do those twenty times without thinking much. Just do it. You may start thinking of your presenta tion while lettin g your hands an d body go th ro ugh the motions. After twenty times, stop and assess the situation. Is it any better? Und oubtedly, it will be. Now you may stop and think a bit, and perhaps make some changes. And go fo r anoth er twenty. Is it still better? Then it’s been well worth it. This sh ould en co ura ge you to co ntinue. By the tim e you can do it twenty times w ithout s ig nificant improvement, it should be pretty good. This could go on for ever but at some point you decide it’s time to go out and perform it. This procedure is no guarantee, ju st a healthy minim um requir e ment. If you get stuck somewhere, don’t overdo it. Instead, leave it for tomorrow. You’ll be surprised how often you’ll get it just right at the first attempt the next day. It’s quite an experience.


Pete actions will be different. Even the I like your idea to go twenty times proportions are different because w ithout analy zin g. A lot of peo ple you can’t co ntrol the vib ration of say you need to practice correctly a string or the speed at which a from the beginning, and there’s silk falls. So, this other approach some truth to that, but if I’m learn w ould consis t of, in ste ad of do ing a new move, I like to do the ing it very slow at the beginning, first few times without any preci start with a shorter segment, as sion, just to get my hands used to short as you want, and bring it the basic idea. Then I take a break up to speed as early as you can. to make adjustments, and be more This makes a lot of sense, and so precise. I find it much easier to does the other approach. In favor make precise adjustments after of the first approach I should say my hands have the general idea. that though the muscles are differ Have you experienced this? ent and the actions are not exactly the same, your mind will make Rafael the necessary adjustments. You’ll First, let’s make it clear that this train the right muscles when you applies mainly to manipulative or bring it up to speed. The mind ad essentially technical magic. Do ju s ts everythin g. If you le ar n how ing it twenty times (or any other to play the guitar and they sud appropriate number of times) is denly bring you a smaller guitar, a later stage. It’s what I might do y o u ’ll quic kly get used to it and after I can go through the rou find the notes. The movements tine and execute it fairly well w ill certain ly be diffe rent but your and yet I feel it can be improved. mind knows where to go. This il lustrates the fact that you need As to doing it p erfectly from the to train your mind as well as your first repetition, there is more than fingers (or hands, or body). one side to this. There is one ap proach some classical musicians Having said all that, I think sub use (mainly pianists) which is scribing only to one system is un to do it as slow as necessary to desirably strict. I think it’s good to make sure you do it perfectly, consider all options. It all helps to w ithout m is ta kes, th en gradu all y understand practice, to know what increase the tempo. For this you you are doin g when you are prac don’t need to feel any pressure to ticing. That’s our homework. Then speed it up. At some point it will comes how to bring out the best become boring to do it so slow of you in performance after hav because you have mastered it at ing done your homework, which that pace, so you will raise the is another subject. In this regard, challenge a bit with a sure step. I strongly recommend The Inner Anoth er tren d of th ought is that if Gam e o f Tennis by Tim Ga llwey (as you do it th at slow, you will not w ell as oth er books in th e Inner be using the same muscles. The Game series). I judge, according to

ing to a flag. He need not be con cerned about hitting the ball well. what path sh ould I follow , which I* often a combination of the two All he ha s to do is try to guess the direction of each ball he hits, approaches, with vary in g ra tios. without lo ok in g. He would say, fo r instance, “Two feet to the right” or Pete “Six feet to the left,” in relation to I love The Inner Game of Tennis. the flag. In order to make a reason When it came out [in 1972 ] I was able guess, his brain must consid a teenager just getting started er several ingredients, most likely playing tennis. I remember one at a subconscious level, which is itory about a guy who came to (iallwey for tennis lessons. Gall- where all the com ple x th inking takes place. Then wey asked what by merely trying tlx* guy wanted None of this guarantees to guess, with help with , and it's readyfor performance out a conscious tin* guy imme but it's a healthy effort to change diately said “I minimum requirement anything, he bring my racket supposedly be too high on my especially i f compared gins to hit the ba ck sw ing.” Gallto nothing ball closer to the wey had the guy flag. I only say do a few back supposedly because the results hand swings, and sure enough, he may be long-term but the system brought his racket too high on his must work. It’s a clever way to ap backswing. Gallwey was amazed that the guy knew what his prob peal directly to the subconscious. lem was but couldn’t fix it. So he Pete had the guy do a few swings in f ront of a mirror. And the gu y saw So what lessons that you learned himself and said “Oh my god! I from music help you the most bring my racket too high on my when you ’re p ra cti cin g a co m plete backswing!” He had no idea. And routine? ten minutes of mirror practice did Rafael what m on th s of le sson s had fa iled One thing is to break the routines to do. in phases. Say you’re learning a 4 phase routine. Maybe phase 3 is Rafael In The Inner Game of Golf, there difficult and the rest isn’t. Practice is an equally fascinating exercise. phase 3 by itself. If you don’t have a system and you do the whole As anyone who ha s ever taken up thing over and over, you’ll end up golf knows, to hit the ball straight learning it but you’ll be wasting a is one of golf’s challenges. Author lot of time. Say the routine takes Tim Gallwey, an amateur golfer, asks a golfer to hit a basket o f golf 4 minutes to perform, each phase balls at the driving range, aim 1 minute. If you tackle phase 3 by the nature of what I’m pra cticin g,

, ,


itself you’ll do it 4 times as much as if you practice the whole thing each time. So set up the situation at the beginning of phase 3 and do that phase by itself. Pete I think that can be a deceptively difficult thing to do. It can be hard to start a routine in the middle. I have a lot of trouble starting a pi ano or guitar piece in the middle. It’s as though I have to go back to the beginning.

again. The telephone rings, you make a mistake: every time some thing happens you take it from the beginning. If you start with the final steps, then the part that’s new to you comes first and you’ll be giving each segm ent som ething closer to its due share of atten tion. Then go over the whole thing again in longer units and so on. None of this guarantees it’s ready for performance but it’s a healthy minimum requirement, especially if compared to nothing.

Rafael Pete You ju s t get used to it. Anyone who That must get tricky if there are a has learned a substantial amount lot of steps. of material that includes some thing technically demanding has Rafael done it. If you have to start from I don’t think it’s tricky. It’s just the beginning every time, I can’t a lot of work, but that’s what it imagine how you would ever get takes. Doing it without a system through something demanding. (whether it’s a strict system or one Spending the you mak e up as same amount of you go) wou ld A need to communicate time on an easy take at least ten and make it entertaining beginning as on times longer to lead me towards a difficult mid learn equally an interesting script. dle is a waste of well. A system time. Well, it’s will save you M ind you, this doesn't neve r a was te but work , or, bett er happen every timey but you will not be still, will get you when it doesn't using your time more rewards for productively. that trick doesn't make it your eff orts. Als o, break it in into the show. steps and learn If you are doing it backwards. I a routine that don’t mean really backwards, but has many different steps, whether learning the last steps first. This it’s difficult or not, do it as fast applies to a routine as much as to as you can. If the routine should learning a script or memorizing a last 5 minutes, try to do it in, say, stack. If you don’t have a system, 1 minute. This will do away with you le ar n the begin nin g, th en ad d any hesitations about what comes more and go from the beginning next. If you know all the steps and

,

you feel it’s technically okay but would like to make it better (which

I* always possible), make it a task to do it a number of times. You itt.iy decide, for example, that you won’t perform it in public until

y o u ’v e done it 50 0 times, or any

appropriate number of times, ac cording to the nature of the trick. Pete What ha ve you learned from m usic tli.it helps you stage your magic? Rafael Sometimes I say to a lute student, Imagine you’re playing before a Kroup of friends who don’t know much about music, and they have been told that you are a great im proviser. You will be playing notes that are written on a score, but you have to convince them that you are making it all up on the spur of the moment.” If the student gets the point, this concept will save me a lot of teaching. Many details appear to take care of themselves, because you are creating a mood, a fragile mood that can be broken by the tiniest inconsistency. Magic helped me realize that this was the illu sion I’m atte m pting to create when performing classical music. Even if the spectators are holding a program that announces the composer, the artistic illusion of creating the music on the spur of the moment remains. So, what is the illusion you are trying to create in magic? I don’t mean the tricks, but the larger illusion you are attempting to convey when performing magic. This can have

many answers. What matters is that you have an answer for your self. Pete So how do you approach presenta tion? Rafael I’d say presentation has the func tion of framing the effect. I don’t advocate too strongly the “pre sentation is everything” concept. You need a go od effect and a good method and you need to do it well. Pete And you need to be an in te re sting character yourself. Rafael Presentation allows your person ality to show through. Pete So what style of presentation do you fa vor? Rafael I’m not too convinced of the need to give everything meaning. If you do something that appears plain impossible, the mere implications have enough of a meaning. Maybe motivation is better than mean ing. Pete I don’t recall seeing you use any “story” style scripts. Rafael I’d say the key element of pre sentation is to frame the effect,

to make things make sense, but 1 those things I would do or say, and w ou ld n’t tw ist th in gs too much. I those I w ou ldn ’t do or say, u su ally have nothing against story tricks channel me into a presentation. A if used sparingly (I do a couple need to communicate and make myself) and as long as the presen it entertaining lead me toward an tation doesn’t delay the magic un interesting script. Mind you, this duly. I personally like to focus on doesn’t happen every time, but the magic, but if someone wants when it doesn ’t, that tr ick d oesn ’t to drift away for a moment and make it into the show. tell stories, why not? There are tricks that would not make any Pete sense without a story, while oth How do you make the transition ers almost speak for themselves. from pra cticin g— i.e. learning the Look at the Ambitious Card, for skills necessary to do the rou example. You could easily do it tine—to rehearsing and perform silently and everyone will follow ing? what is supposed to be goin g on. An d if yo u did it th at way , the tr ick Rafael would hav e its nat ura l pac e. I try This varies considerably accord to fit my patter in without break ing to the nature of the routine, ing that pace. And if I did it in an but let’s describe a generic pro other language in which I’m not so cess. First you learn how to walk fluent, I’d rather make my patter through the routine, to just do it sim pler than make people w ait too from beginning to end. To reach long for the magic to happen. that basic stage you cou ld learn the sleights first and then the steps of Pete the routine, or you could learn the I’ve noticed that your magic in procedure any way you can and v o lves the audience very direct ly. then work on the sleights. It’s usu When I wat ch you work , the a s  ally a mixture between the two, sisting spectator is not just being depending also on the nature of the eyes of the audience, they are the sleights involved and whether interacting with you in a way that they’re totally new to you or not. is essential to the trick. The inter Difficult sleights must be studied action is the trick. With a trick like separately or you’d be wasting a that, you don’t need a big story lot of time. But also they need to script—too much story would be be learned in context. So, I don’t a distraction. Do you have a sys advocate any of these two ways tem for writing or developing pre exclusively. I’d just raise the issue. sentations? Then, in an ideal world, you would do anything you can to improve Rafael the routine at home before doing Not really. Not an es tab lish ed strict it in public. There is no need to be system. I begin trying stuff out, in seen fumbling in public, or won private and then in public. Then dering what comes next. Having

Here is an interesting example. I laid that, if I hav e a gig in a pl ace am a Venezuelan living in Spain. where I feel at ease I might throw Both countries speak Spanish; In a routine before that process is the difference is pretty much like completed, but always after being that between B ritish and Am erican able to walk th ro ugh the ro utine English. In my Cups and Balls rou smoothly. There is no place for tine, there was one place where I fumbling at this stage. This is to expected to get a get a feel of how laugh. For years, tin* routine reg When you discover I wasn’t get isters in public, ting that laugh how I feel w ith what you can achieve in Spain while I It, w here an d through practice w as gett in g it in how people re you wi ll begin Venezuela. After act, and you get several years of some surprises to lovepractice. living in Spain I either way. You And then nothing began to get that might do a rou can stop you. laugh in that tine once like pla ce, but I did n’t that and de know why! I didn’t consciously cide you don’t want to pursue it change anything. Must have to do further. Other times you realize with the subtle st nuances in tim  you’ve got som ethin g th ere. ing that I’m almost unaware of. In I don ’t act ua lly write a scr ipt at this Ven ezuela, it ’s m y cu lture . If it’s stage but I do decide how I want to funny to me, it’s funny to them. present it and let it develop a bit. Pete By the time the routine becomes part of my performing repertoire, When I le arn ed cla ssic al gu itar, my I have a fairly tight script that is teacher paid close attention to fin gering. One idea he taught me was almost the same every time. 4nd I say almost because you can’t talk to finger a song with alternating the same way to different audienc contractive and expansive hand positions to reduce fatigue. Are es. I can’t do a trick for my friends there any aspects of lute or gui and say “Ladies and gentlemen...” tar technique you apply to your If you have a very tight script, it will pla y better in so me pla ces magic? than others, when you just happen Rafael to perform in the place you had in Mainly understanding practice. mind. If you can relax and ad-lib a bit, you should be able to adapt to That’s what’s common to all tech nical things. There are countless the changing conditions such as little things, too subtle to even try size o f the audience, kind of venue, explaining, that you find similar at degree of formality, age groups, countries, languages, cultures. a very personal level that help a little bit. Not only lute and guitar,

,


but any skill. Just as if you have to count some money in a stack, and you can ’t avoid th in kin g o f deal ing cards, my mind keeps relating everything I’ve spend any signifi cant amount of time on: plucking strings, dealing cards, hitting a topspin forehand or throwing a ball to first base on the run. When I slice a potato and toss the slic es in the frying pan, I can’t avoid “producing” them as cards. Pete I assume that you know many pieces, both of music and of mag ic, some of which are relatively easy and others very demanding. How do you decide when you’ve mastered a piece enough to per form it regularly for people? Rafael I have an established system of practice, where results can be m easured according to param eters I set for myself. This guarantees a minimum. After having gone through that I allow my real self to decide if it makes the cut. If it doesn’t, I’ll go through my system again setting stricter conditions. But / have the last word. I mean, the system takes me somewhere but at some point I have to step in and decide. Since perfection is un attainable you have to face reality and give in at a point you con sider reasonable. Especially in interac tive magic, you need the feedback of the audience to improve, so sometimes it’s good to throw your stuff out there and let it develop.

Pete How does your experience in mu sic affect your magic repertoire? Rafael My experience with music—and, for that matter, anyone’s experi ence with anything—is part of who I am . I like su btle art is tic tricks. I like to interact with peo ple and I like the human side to things. On the other hand I love technique (in music, art or sports). If I’m hanging out with people, or doing something passive, whether I’m having a good time or not, at some point I begin to wish I were doing something with my hands, practicing something, developing a skill. Pete Did music lead you to magic? Rafael My father had a shelf of magic books, which gradually turned into half a shelf. During my mu sic studies in London, I made my first subtraction from that shelf. My curiosity had awakened after having seen Martin Nash perform at the Magic Castle. I took sever al books with me to London, and one of them was The Royal Road to Card Magic, which is where I learned my basic sleights. Others were Expert Card Technique and the Frank Garcia books. Pete What w as your firs t m ove?

Rafael Overhand shuffle. Royal Road has a prac tice rou tine, an d I did it whil e watch in g television . I a lso worked out a practice routine where I wou ld read from a p o ster on the wall while running cards. So I have no pro ble m sh uffli ng a card to the 14 th position while talking to you.

Pete I his is anothe r plac e wh ere m usic helps you. Rafael Yes. Bec au se I don’t think five , I think da-da-da-da-da. Six is da-dada-da-da-da.

Rafael

When you d is cover what yo u can achieve through practice, you will begin to love practice. And then nothing can stop you.

The End

References Thirteen Steps to Mentalism is by

Tony Corinda. La traduccion Espanola de Rafael esta disponible en www. librosdemagia.com. The Inner Game of Tennis by Timo

thy Gallwey is available from Ama zon.com for about ten bucks.

Pete What advic e would you giv e a m a gician who is just starting to take practicing seriously?

Practice your material until it becomes boring. Then practice until it becomes beautiful. B ill Painter


Scripting Dealer Tricks

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he ultimate goal of this book is to help you experience the deep satisfaction that comes from performing an original presentation you created yourself, one that fully expresses you and your love for magic, gets a great reaction from your audience, and by the way

helps cover the method. But the second and more reasonable goal is to get people to stop performing dealer tricks using the presentations included in the instructions. I f I can pull this off, 111 have something. Because, obviously, most instruction-sheet presentations suck. And most magicians buy and per form lots of dealer tricks. The ability to script a dealer trick comes in mighty handy. Scripting dealer tricks is one of the best ways to separate yourself from the other guys down at the club. You see it all the time; everybody gets the latest new trick, and does it to death. Then the “cool” guys take the trick and give it a good presentation. And suddenly, all the guys who do the store-bought pre sentation start shopping for the next trick. Often the biggest benefit of scripting a dealer trick isn't coming up with a clever presentation but figuring out a new apparent effect, us ing the method o f the trick. Many dealer tricks aren’t really tricks, they’re effects. Some o f them are brilliant— Gaeton Bloom’ s "Escalator” is a stunning visual illus ion — but it’s only half the story. You still have to decide how to interpret that illusion. What is happening? What is making the card rise? Magic isn’t what happens; it’s the thing that makes it happen. The effect is not magic. The cause is magic. So the next time you have a dealer trick, ask yo ur self what is c ausing the illusion you have purchased. And don’t just settle for the one in the instruc tions. This next group o f scripts are all for dealer tricks. They are all better than the "patter” that comes with the instructions, with the exception of Bob Farmer’s script for "The Dark Card of Mystery,” whose mystery will now be revealed.

The Dark Card

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h c last 20 years have seen a veritable explosion of tricks in which a signed selection changes its back color. Several brilliant and many quite ordinary solutions to this basic plot have been published. "The Dark Card,” created by Jean Boucher, is the best. It's not

the most practical for professional use; the reset is annoying. But the whole handling is so much more relaxed and casual that it seems like a different Irick. You have a card selected. A blue-backed card, from a blue-backed deck. Toss it to the spectator, along with a Sharpie, so he or she can sign the card and generally handle it freely. Put it back in the deck, then spread the deck to reveal one red-backed card, which turns out to be the selection. The spectator freely handles the card, looking at both sides, before and after the change. It uses a ^aff whose makeup I will not detail, since it is still a dealer item. However to allow you to understand the routine I can say without giving the game away that the ga ff can be attached to the back of a second card— so the ga ff s back design will cover the origina l— and then separated in the course of normal handling, where it will attach to another card. You end clean, with an examin able, signed miracle. The original presentation did nothing to emphasize the change in the back design. The trick was thoroughly baffling, but the presentation wasn’t really contributing anything. Until Bob Farmer got his hands on it. Bob changed the effect; instead of a card changing its back color, in Bob's version a card placed aside turns out to be a card that was signed after the first card was placed aside. This producesa more mysterious and eerie effect. And it’s a more impenetrable mystery as well, because the new effect is unrelated to the back color, thus making it inconceivable that a spectator could backtrack the method. This is something you can only achieve with scripting. So when you think about how to present a trick, rem em ber that you can also present it as a com  pletely different trick.

SCRIPTING MAGIC 1 25 1

The Magic Red Card of Mystery by Bob Farmer Int—Living Room—Evening Bob shuffles a blue deck and offers it for Alex to cut. Bob Cut the cards, and put half the deck here. Alex cuts the cards. Bob For this trick, we need... the Magic Red Card of Mystery. Bob pulls out his wallet. Bob Here, let’s mark this... Bob marks the cut. Bob ...so we can bring out the Magic Red Card of Mystery. Bob removes a single red-backed card from his wallet. The face is not shown, bu t the w ords “The Magic Red Card of Mystery ” are written on the back in bold black letters. Bob I can’t show you the face of the card, because then it wouldn’t be th e Magic Red Card of Mystery, now would it? Bob places the Magic Red Card of Mystery aside. Bob However I will ask you to place your finger on the Magic Red Card of Mystery, to prevent it from transvaporising into the parallel universe of doom.

!<'* puts a finger on the card. Bob Thanks. Now, Alex, I want you to take this pe n... Hot) hands Alex a Sharpie. Bob ...and with your free hand, sign your name right across the card you cut to. AI»-\ signs the face of the card—the Three of Clubs. Bob It’s okay if I see the card. It’s not like it’s the Magic Blue Card of Mystery or anything. Alex finishes signing and hands Bob the card. Bob Thank you. Now, first we shuffle your card into the deck. Bob shuffles and cuts the deck thoroughly. Bob The location of your signed card is a mystery. This is a job for... the Magic Red Card of Mystery. Bob picks up the Magic Red Card of Mystery and sticks it into the deck. He looks at it for a second, but nothing happens. Bob It’s very mysterious, but... Bob removes the Magic Red Card of Mystery and sticks it back in somewhere else. Again, nothing happens. Bob ...eventually, something very mysterious...

Bob sticks it in another place. Again nothing. Bob ...will happen. Bob sticks the card in and this time the card begins vibrating mysteriously. Bob Told you. Bob pushes the Magic Red Card of Mystery completely into the deck, then spreads the deck across the table. Bob Wouldn’t it be mysterious if the card right next to the Magic Red Card of Mystery were your signed card? Bob removes the card below the Magic Red Card of Mystery and shows it. It’s not the selection. Bob The card right next to the Magic Red Card of Mystery... Bob removes the card directly above the Magic Red Card of Mystery and shows that. It’s also not the selection. Bob Er... wouldn’t it be even more amazing, if... the card exactly two cards away from the Magic Red Card of Whatever was your card? Bob turns up the card two cards away—it’s not the selection. In desperation, Bob begins turning over all the cards near the Magic Red Card of Mystery. None are the selection. Eventually the entire deck is face up. The selection is nowhere. Bob Your card is gone. (Pause, then triumphantly)

Ta da! Your card is gone! That’s pretty mysterious. But the real question is... Hob picks up the Magic Red Card of Mystery. Bob ...how did your signed card become... the Magic Red Card of Mystery? Bob finally shows the face of the Magic Red Card of Mystery. It’s the signed Three of Clubs.

I he End


Notes on The Magic Red Card of Mystery This is one of those brilliant sideways applications of a magical method that completely devastates an audience. Any possible explanation is destroyed by the simplicity and freedom of the handling. And think about the nam e o f the routine: Th e Magic Red Card o f Mystery. This provides the hook for the routine; the face o f this card is never shown, so people want to see it. The n ame o f the trick is written on the red card, which absolutely cements the idea that the back design has changed; you won't have people thinking that maybe the card was red backed all the time and they just didn't notice. And it draws attention to the back designs without giving away the effect. It even mentions the color red!

Character Sometimes a single word can help define a character. In this script, Bob uses the subjunctive tense when he says “Wouldn't it be mysterio us i f the card right next to the Magic Red Card o f Mystery were your signed card?” Most people— probably 95% o f Americans, at least— would say “ ...if the card right next to the Magic Red Card of Mystery was your signed card.” Technically, the subjunctive “were” is correct, since this is a hypothetical, contrary to fact. Here in America, few people use this. So this one word establishes Bob as well-educated. He can still play a buffoon, if he wants to, but it will be a well-educated buffoon. A similar thing happens with the word “w hom .” Most people never use the word “whom” in casual conversation. It's not that they don't use it correctly, they don't use it at all. So they tend to think of it as a stylistic choice rather than a simple question of grammar. As a result, most people assume that anyone who uses the word “whom” is automatically some sort of highbrow intellectual type, probably a snob as well. So i f you want your character to seem like an ordinary person, you might not be able to use the word “whom,” even when it's correct to do so. Conversely, a character who wants to be an intellec tual might use “who m” to try to appear sophisticated. As a joke you can use it incorrectly, if you think people will be able to tell.

Method Here's the handling; get a Dark Card and this will all make sense.

Setup Write the words “ Magic Red Card o f M ystery” on the back o f a red-backed Four of Hearts, then attach a blue-backed Dark Card gaff. Take a blue deck,

und replace the Four of Hearts with the gaff. Take any red-backed card and

write* "Magic Red Card of Mystery" on its back, matching the gaffed card.

Performance Bring out the deck and shuffle it, keeping the ga ff on top, and do the crosscut force. During the time-misdirection interval, introduce the Magic Red

( !,ird of Mystery. Say the words “ Magic Red Card o f Mystery” in your best scary .mnouncer voice. Return the Dark Card to the deck and control it to the top. Then riffle up the inner end of the deck with your right thumb and separate the Dark Card at

its inner end. Holding a break here with your right thumb, cut the deck, then transfer this break to your left little finger so your right hand can pick up the Magic Red Card o f Mystery. Stick the Magic Red Card of Mystery into the break, then make it vibrate with your hand. The right hand lifts the upper h alf o f the deck slightly, separating the gaff completely from the signed selection. As you do, square the Magic Red Card of Mystery with the bottom h alf o f the deck, concealing the red back o f the se lection, which is directly underneath. Return the top half of the deck onto the bottom; this will reattach the gaff to the Magic Red Card of Mystery, so when you spread the deck, only one red-backed card is visible— the selection. Look at the card next to the card o f mystery, which is not, as you had hoped, the selection. Don’t forget to drop the scary announcer voice once you are dis tracted by the fact that the trick isn’t working. Finally turn over the Magic Red Card of Mystery and leave it with your utterly fried spectators.

Adaptation There are only two moves in this trick: a force and a control, and you can eliminate them both.

Don't Force It, Get a Bigger Hammer Generally, once a card is signed, the fact that it was freely selected doesn’t matter. There are exceptions, but this is not one of them. The entire selection process is nothing but dead time. You can cover it by interacting with the audi ence, but you can also just elim inate it, and replace the force with scripting, as I do in “It’ll Be a Miracle” on page 21. Put the gaffed card fourth from the bottom of the deck, and make the three cards below it picture cards and high-spot cards. Hand Alex the Sharpie and say “I want you to sign a card...” Turn the deck face up and start thumbing cards off one at a time, looking for a card suitable for signing. When you reach


the Four of Hearts, say something like “This one's good,” and hand it to Alex. This change costs you nothing, and eliminates a move. More importantly, it helps streamline the script. If you choose the card, it’s faster, and it eliminates the dread many people feel when asked to pick a card. You can also pick a card that means something. I f you’re doing a trick for a couple, take the Two of Hearts. Have them both sign it, and say something to the effect o f “You really are two o f hearts.” Couples love crap like that.

Self Control You can gaff the Dark Card to control itself, as per David Regal’s Law o f the Gaff: i f you’re gaffed, use the best gaff. First, edge m ark the g aff with a pencil. Then let Alex shuffle the card back into the deck — make sure to mime an overhand shuffle, as a riffle shuffle could theoretically detach the gaff. Then pick up the deck, sight the edge mark, and casually dribble the cards in your hands until you reach the gaff. A little practice will show you how easy this is: basically i f you dribble the cards with a light touch, you’ll automatically stop just before the Dark card falls, making it the bottom card o f the top half.

The Ambitious Card Magician I have adapted Bob’s idea for the climax of my Ambitious Card routine, which consistently produces complete and utter astonishment. I did this for my sister, and she said that the original phases were great, but the ending... and her voice trailed off. That is the best reaction you can possibly get, in my opinion. This trick, every time I have ever performed it, has produced that same reaction. If you perform Bob’s version o f “The Dark Card” — or in an Am bitious Card sequence like the one I’ll describe— you will get the same reaction. Try it at least once. The Ambitious setup is the same as Bob’s except I write “ Magic Red Card of Mystery” on the back of a red-backed Ace o f Spades, set that with a blue Dark Card gaff, and write “M agic Red Card of Mystery” on the red side o f a red/blue double-backer. I bring out the Ace of Spades and begin my Ambitious Card routine, which as you will see is rather long. I do an initial set of phases (the opening section of Daryl’s routine from Ambitious Card Omnibus), and then I announce that the audience must think I have a duplicate card, so I have a spectator sign it. After a couple more phases, I comment that the audience must think the first spectator is working with me, so I have another spectator sign it as well. Another couple o f phases (I told you it was a long routine), and a third specta tor sign s it, just in case both o f the first two guys are stooges. Finally, when I have run out of phases or spectators to sign the card (whichever com es first),

turn the deck face up and place the selection on top (also face up). Riffle to

pa rate the gaff, then double undercut the selection to the bottom. Now I rn to the right and pick up the Magic Red Card of Mystery, while I flip the i n k face down. The Magic Red Card of Mystery goes on top of the deck, where it covers the now-exposed red back o f the Ace o f Spades

Now I explain that not even the power o f the Magic Red Card o f Mystery will blot k the signed card from rising all the way to the top of the deck. I give the deck a significant but very clean riffle, then show the audience th.it nothing has happened. “It appears,” I say, "that the signed card did not Come to the top.” But I turn over the Magic Red Card of Mystery to reveal that,

Impossibly, it has. This last turnover is a double. As soon as the double falls flat with the deck, push off the signed Ace of Spades. The blue back of the red/blue doublebac ker shows underneath, making this an exceptionally clean change of the

(aid. The audience can examine the Ace of Spades all they want, and I can personally guarantee you that they will. If you do the Ambitious Card, give this a try. It's really not har d— i f you i an do an Ambitious Card routine, you can do this. Your spectators' voices will trail off in a most pleasing way.

References This is the only script in this book that was included in the instructions of a dealer trick. Gary Ouellet, who wrote good instructions himself, included it when Camirand Academ y released Jean Boucher’s "The Dark Card.” Bob is allowing me to reprint it in complete script form here. Thanks, Bob. As of this writing, you can buy "The Dark Card” at ww w.camirandmagic. com for eight bucks US, plus another butk and a half for delivery. That’s deliv ered to your house for less than ten dollars.

Hot Rod

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his just might be the best known application of the paddle move, one o f the most versatile and venerable techniques in magic. The Hot Rod was invented, apparently by an unidentified Japanese magician, in the late 1960s. Paul Freed asked Jim Zachary (aka

Jim Zee) to m ake them for sale in the US, and as a result Jim is often credited with creating the trick. Th is he flatly den ies. However he does acknowledge contributing the idea o f using a clear plastic rod, wh ich eliminates the thought that the rod is gim micked . The effect is simple: The magician shows a prop from a magic store with six colored gems on each side. Alex picks a number, after which one o f the gems is selected. With a wave all the gems turn into the selected gem. It’s no surp rise this trick has stood the test o f time. The effect is visual and can be appreciated by a sm all child, and the method is easy and effective. This trick is also the source of the infamous “Hot Rod Force” in which any num ber from one to six is used to "select” the force gem by either counting or spelling (!) to the selected num be r— an absurd process, even for a dealer trick. This script does not use the Hot Rod Force. It doesn’t use any force at all, because Alex never selects a color. Instead you talk about birthstones, and most of the time you’ll use Alex's, but when you can’t, you use your own, and the audience never knows about the other op tion. The prop is completely justified, and as a bonus, talking about birthdays automatically creates a meaningful interaction between you and the spectator. The trick seems personalized no matter which way you do it. Don’t worry — it’s all set up so you can’t get caught switching options. The spectators don’t know what you are doin g— to them you’re just talking about birthdays, and birthstones, and then you do a fantastically visual and baffling trick that means som ethin g, either to them (most o f the time) or to you. The best way to understand this is just to read the outline. Then read both versions o f the script, and you’ll know what to do. You know you have a Hot Rod somew here— just try this for a non -m agi cian. Just once. I believe that if this book does nothing more than reduce the use o f the Hot Rod Force, m y work will not have been in vain. Before we start, one note: My birthday is in August, thus my birthstone is peridot, which is green. So I have a Hot Rod that changes to all green, and that’s what this script will assume. You can adjust for your particular birth month once you understand how this works.


Outline You introduce the Hot Rod as a birthstone sampler from a jewelry store. The twelve gems — six on each sid e— are the birthstones for each o f the twelve months of the year. The trick hasn’t really started yet. You’ve introduced the birthstone sampler, and you’re making conversation. You ask if Alex knows what his or her birthstone is. Everything hinges on the answ er to this question. In m y limited experience, nobody knows what their birthstone is. So if Alex says no, you follow up by asking what month Alex was born, and no matter what the answ er is, you say "January (or whatever) is peridot, which is this green one here.” And you nod at Alex, and when Alex nods back you say “ I’m going to do a special trick using your birthstone." Change the Hot Rod to all peridot, both sides, astonishment all around. If Alex says “My birthstone is ruby, I was bom in July,” you say “Ooh, Ruby’s are beautiful. My birthday’s in August, which is peridot, this green one here.” Then you say that when the lady at the jewelry store handed this birthstone sampler to you, it magically changed to all peridot, so sh e let you keep it. It’s a little stronger to use the spectator’s birthstone, obviously, but this out is still a fine and fitting climax to this trick, both magically and narratively as well. And you’re only going to have to use it i f Alex is a jeweler born in July. It sure beats the hell out of spelling the num ber five. By the way, there are (at least) three sets of birthstones: traditional, modern, and spiritual. So if, after you’ve identified Ju ne as peridot, som eone butts in to tell you June is pearl, you say “Yes — in the traditional birthstones. This sam  pler is for the modern birthstones.” Now that you know how this works, heire are samples of the scripts for each of the two pos sibilities— the first is for when you’re able to use Alex’ s birth stone, the second is the out, where you have to use your own.

The Birthstone Sampler by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete brings out a small plastic rod with several jewels set in it. Pete Do you know what this is? Alex No idea. Pete It’s actually a birth sto ne sa m pl er —all the stones for each month. This is garnet, amethyst... peridot, tourmaline, topaz. These use d to be very comm on in jewelry stores. I stole this one... Pete coughs. Pete ...excuse me. I got this one from the je welr y counter at WalMart. That’s why these are all fake gems. They don’t use them at real jewelry stores anymore, because A), people kept steali ng them, and B), who buys things with their birthstone anymore? Do you kn ow what your birthston e is? Alex No. Pete Me neither—’til I got this thing. What’s your birthday? Alex November 16th.


Pete Novem ber is peri dot, here it is, that’s this greeivone here. Since I might not see you on November 16th I’ll give you your birthday magic trick now, if you like. Alex Great. Pete raises the sampler up to eye level. Pete Okay, focus on the peridot one. (singing) Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Alex... As Pete sings Alex’s name, the gems all change to green on both sides. Pete ...happy birthday to you. Alex Thank you. Pete You’re welcome. Now if you’ll excuse me, if I leave this too long it might get stuck... Pete rubs the birthstone sampler and the gems change back to all different colors. He checks both sides and then puts the sampler away. Pete And that is the secret behind why the je wel ry counter at WalMart is mis sing their birthstone sampler. The End

The Birthstone Sampler (Out) by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete brings out a small plastic rod with several jewels. Pete Do you know what this is? Alex No idea. Pete It’s actua lly a bir ths ton e sa m pl er —all the stones for each month. This is garnet, amethyst... peridot, tourmaline, topaz. These used to be very common in jewelry stores. I stole this one... Pete coughs. Pete ...excuse me. I got this one from the jewelr y counter at WalMart. T hat’s why these are all fake gems. They don’t have them at real jewelry stores anymore, because A) people kept stealing th em, and B) who buy s thin gs with the ir bir ths ton e anymore? Do you know what your birthstone is? Alex It’s Yellow Topaz. Pete I’m impressed. I had no idea what my birthstone was, until I go t th is. I’ll show you how I found out. My birthday is in August, which is peridot... here it is. Pete raises the sampler up to eye level.


Pete

So the lady at WalMart tells me to stare at peri dot, focus on ju st the peri dot. Now, this is kind of embarrassing, but it doesn’t work if I do n’t do it. You can join me or not. (singing) Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Pete... Pete waves his fingers over the sampler and the gems all c hange to green. Pete ...happy birthd ay to me. (nods to the audience) Thank you. Pete shows the other side—those are all green too. Pete It didn’t last too long, but I’ll never forget what my birthstone looks like. Pete rubs the birthstone sampler and the gems change back to all different colors. He checks both sides and then puts the sampler away. Pete And that, is the secret behind why the jewel ry counter at ^ValMart is missing their birthstone sampler. The End


Notes on The Birthstone Sampler Once the prop is justified, everything flows from that. The prop sets the con text, and the magic makes sense within that context. Related to that, although the Hot Rod makes sense as a birthstone sampler, the fact that it’s plastic with obviously fake gems means that it makes more sense coming from a cheap department store jewelry counter rather than a jewelry store. By the way, in the very first line of this script you show the audience the Hot Rod and ask i f they know what it is. Listen to what they say! Someone may come up with something that suggests a whole new presentation.

Method The key to the paddle move is to script it. I'm not talking about what you say while you’re doing it, although that’s always important. I’m talking about what you are doing w hile you are secretly doing the paddle move. What larger action is the paddle move a part of? Most magicians that I have seen use the paddle move like this: they’re holding something, and talking about it, and then they quickly flash the other side then back to the original side, and re sum e what they were saying. I think this is the least effective way you can use this move. So many magicians hold an object quite casually, then flash the other side in a jerk of movement, then go back to their original pose. This is one of those cases that happen so often, where the audience doesn’t know what you’ve done— so they’re still "fo oled,” i f that means an yth ing— but any sensation o f magic is killed. I think the best way to avoid this problem is to script the display process. In this routine you show one side of the birthstone sampler, which you talk about, then you turn the object over (doing the paddle move) to show the other side and talk about that. If you have no specific reason to show the other side, you can usually work out a motivated reason to show both sides in the course o f doing something els e— I have a routine where I do the paddle move while raising an object to my lips to blow on it, which naturally shows the other side. This is very effective.

Setup Check the chart on page 268 to see what color your birthstone is, then buy a Hot Rod whose force color matches your birthstone. Make sure you know which other month (if any) is the same color as yours. So, i f you are born in January, garnet is your birthstone, which is red. So, get a Hot Rod that changes to all red. Also, when you ask Alex what month he or she was born, rem em ber

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 2%

that July is ruby, which is also red.

Performance Introduce the birthstone sampler and begin discussing birthstones and birthdays. Point out some of the birthstones, then casually turn the Hot Rod over, doing the paddle move, so you can casually show some stones on the other side. When Alex announces his or her birthday, and you say “November is peri dot," then you pretend that you have to turn the Hot Rod over (paddle move) to find peridot on the other side. Just a little touch that cements the fact that

the gems are mixed colors on both sides. And o f course, if Alex’s birthday is upcoming so on— or passed recent ly— give a birthday greeting. Now you’re going to change the gems to all green. You can do it any way you like, but try this one. Hold the Hot Rod with the multi-color side pointing straight ahead. Hold it about waist high with both hands, thumbs on top and fingertips underneath. Raise the Hot Rod to eye height, rotating it a quarter turn to keep the multi-color side facing straight ahead. Now, when you say “Yours is... peridot,” as though you were trying to remember (underplay this, please), and along with that you lower the Hot Rod, so you can position your fingers on either side of the green gem (this happens as you are asking Alex to focus just on the green gem). Now raise the Hot Rod to eye level again, but this time do not do the paddle move. The all-green side is facing the audience, but because o f the position o f your fingers, only one green gem is visible, so to the spectators this looks exactly the same as the picture they saw a few seconds ago. Slowly slide your hands apart; the effect is that the gems change color as your fingers pass over them. This is a shocking change. Try it in a mirror, if only to get the positioning o f your fingers right. There ’s a great visual reten tion o f the single green gem. I worked this change out m ys elf for this routine, but for all I know, every magician who demos the Hot Rod does this exact move. No one I hang out with would ever admit to doing the Hot Rod, so I’ll never know. Now you show the other side. Here you are openly turning over the Hot Rod to show the other side, so there’s no need to motivate this. Just do it slowly; the paddle move does not rely on speed, no matter how many bad magicians you may have seen. The best advice I’ve ever heard on the paddle move came from Peter Bloeme, World Frisbee Champion, who was teaching me to throw a Frisbee into the wind. He said “Try to do with smoothness what you’ve been


trying to do with speed.” That's perfect advice for a lot of magic, but the paddle move especially. Now you’re going to change the gems back. You could do the same change as before, but I prefer to vary it a little. I f you feel the same, hold the Hot Rod in your right hand, gems facing out, with your fingertips and thumb sort of pinching the middle of the rod from opposite sides. Take your left hand and wipe it across the Hot Rod, starting from the end closest to you and moving away. When you reach the far end, and your hand is covering the entire Hot Rod, give it a secret hal f turn. Immediately wipe your hand back down the Hot Rod revealing that the gems have changed back to different colors.

Adaptation The first question you have to answer is how did you come to acquire the birthstone sampler? I play the bit about having stolen it from WalMart, but you could easily say that when you picked up the sampler it magically changed, so the saleslady gave it to you. The key is your character. How would the charac ter you play acquire and interact with such a thing? Don’t forget that this is obviously a fairly cheap birthstone sampler. How does your character interact with such a cheap prop? I f you are playing a classy person, you might even say something to the effect o f “I f you’re wondering w hy such a classy guy like m e is carrying around this low-rent birthstone sampler. I’ll show you.” That way you take the incongruity and make it part o f the story.

References I do not know of anyone else who has presented a Hot Rod as a birthstone sampler. I asked everyone I know, and no one had seen it, but this is not really scientific. It’s possible that someone had the idea but was too embarrassed to publish a presentation for the Hot Rod. The “official” list of modern birthstones was published by the American National Association of Jewelers in 1912. January

Garnet (red)

July

Ruby (red)

February Amethyst (purple)

August

Peridot (green)

March

Aquamarine (blue)

September Sapphire (blue)

April

Diamond (clear)

October

May

Emerald (green)

November Yellow Topaz (yellow)

June

Pearl (milky white)

December

Opal/Tourmaline (white/clear) Blue Topaz/Turquoise (blue)

Svengali Deck

W

hen I had the idea for this book several years ago, I started making a list of scripts from other magicians that I wanted to include. This was the first script on that list. It originally appeared in Jim Steinmeyer’s “Conjuring” series in M AG IC

magazine. Jim is one of the greatest magical thinkers of this generation. He

creates effects, methods, presentations, and scripts for close-up tricks, parlor effects, and stage illusions. He is also one of magic’s premier writers, both for magician and non-magician aud iences — he may be the most successful writer ever at writing about magic for non-magicians. It is a bit of a shame that I couldn’t get you to read the script first, and then ask you to imagine a method before telling you that it uses a Svengali Deck. Actually it us es a modified Svengali Deck, which you can make up yourself with a m odicum o f effort. Take a regular deck, then discard any 20 cards and replace them with 19 duplicate Aces of Hearts. Take the 20 Aces of Hearts (19 plus the original) and short them on one of the index corners; the five-dollar corner cutter you can buy at any office supply store works perfectly. Now arrange the deck so the top forty cards alternate random card, AH, random card, AH, etc. The remaining 12 random cards go on the bottom. Now the hard part: you have to make a hole through the deck. This hole needs to go about 34-inch or so from the index corner opposite the one you shorted. The cheapest way to do this is to use a hole punch and make sure the holes line up. The easiest way is to take the deck to a printer, who will drill a perfect hole for you. The way that doesn’t work is to use an electric drill your self; a regular drill bit just tears up the cards. Now take a thumbscrew and a wing nut, and bolt the deck together. You’re all set.


Exhibit A by Jim Steinmeyer Int

—

Theater— Evening

Jim shows Alex a deck of cards bolted together with a thumbscrew and wing nut. Jim These cards were Exhibit A in a famous court trial. They were confiscated during a crooked poker game. They’re stacked, which is the technical term for a deck of cards which has been prearranged in a certain order to benefit the dealer. Now, stacked decks have been around for a long time. But the unusual thing about this deck is the intricacy of its order. It’s like a code, a really complicated code, and it’s nev er be en cr acked. Jim picks up the deck. Jim That’s why it was bolted together. Because the police knew there was an order to the deck, they knew it was important. But they couldn’t figure out how it worked. So the cards were drilled and bolted, so the order could be preserved forever. Jim riffles the corner, showing the randomly ordered cards. Ji m In a norma l stack, th er e’s some sequence that’s apparent. You know—a Heart every fourth card, or an Ace placed at regular intervals. But as you can see, these cards seem to be randomly shuffled. In a game, you might think th er e’s nothi ng suspicious about them at all. But that’s where you’d be wrong. This stack has been so carefully planned that th e dealer can get the card he needs exactly


where he wants it—no matter how many pla yers or the particular game. Let me demonstrate for you. Let’s say that I’ve already dealt myself three of the Aces. I’m looking for the last Ace, the Ace of Hearts. So let’s see if this deck of cards can put the Ace of Hearts exactly where we want it. Please give me a nu m be r from 1 to 52 — th at’s how m any cards the re are in a deck. Alex Sixteen. Jim Sixteen? Our goal is to remove exactly 16 cards from the top of the deck, and then I’ll find the Ace of Hearts on top. Hold the c ards tightl y while I remove the bolt. I wan t you to be sure th at I do n’t dis tu rb the order in any way. Alex holds the cards as Jim removes the thumbscrew. Jim takes the deck and spreads it face up, showing the faces. Jim You’ll see that the cards genuinely seem to be in a random order. You’ll also notice that, since you selected the number 16, the Ace of Hearts isn’t near the bottom of the deck. That’s because we want to find it ju st aft er 16 cards. Jim squares the deck and puts it face down on the table. One by one he slowly deal s cards fr om th e top. Jim One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. Having finished this count, Jim places the top card of the deck aside.

Jim And the next card... should be the Ace of Hearts. That’s the idea. But before I show you that card, I want to point out that if you had said 15... Jim shows the last card from the dealt pile. Jim ...or 17... Jim shows the next card on the deck. Jim ...the results would have been different. No, you said the number was 16, and th at ’s the ama zing thing abo ut the orde r of these cards. Because that card is... Jim turns over the put aside card; it’s the Ace of Hearts. Jim ...the Ace of Hearts!

The End

Notes on Exhibit A Method Again, this is just a Svengali Deck, with the cards trim med at the corner i at her than across the end. So when you riffle the deck, to show the cards, run your thumb down the corner. I love how the thum bscrew motivates the rifling at tion needed by the Svengali Deck. The force cards are all the even cards from 2 to 40. So when Alex names a number, you immediately know if you have to deal down to that number (if it’s an even number), or if you have to deal that many cards and take the next 1 ard. This is why Jim has the line “Our goal is to remove exactly 16 cards from the top of the deck, and then I ’ll find the Ace o f Hearts on top.” This line works with either situation. By the way, it’s very easy, in the heat of performance, to lose count or oth erwise forget whether you’re supposed to turn over the numbered card or the card that follows. So pencil dot the corners of all the force cards. That way when you finish dealing, you’ll know i f you need to turn over the next card or the last card dealt.

Adaptation I really liked this script, and I spent some time adapting it for myself. Of course, you don’t change a Jim Steinmeyer trick casually. I just want to avoid any misunderstanding; the fact that I’ve made changes to Jim’s script doesn’t mean that I think his script isn’t great. Just the opposite— i f I didn’t think his script was great, I would never have spent the time to develop my own adapta tion. I think that these changes are a good illustration of just one of the many ways the process o f adaptation may lead. So here they are. My first thought was, to heighten the importance o f the special order o f the deck, I was going to do the trick without removing the win gn ut— so there’s no chance of the cards getting out of order. I found that if I loosen the nut I can spread the cards in a rough fan, which allows me to show the bottom group of indifferent cards. And I can count the cards by starting with a face-down squared deck and rotating each card to the side 90 degrees. The thumbscrew makes this perfectly natural here because you can’t count a bolted deck in any usual way. Just another illustration of the fact that what seems natural to an audience has nothing to do with whether they’ve seen it before, and all to do with whether they know why you’re doing it. I also wanted to have the other three Aces visible, so I could show them

while I’m introducing the trick. So I put them on top o f the deck, face up, before I bolt the deck together. You spread these cards to show the hand, then proceed. This way the deck always stays in its exact order. This had the benefit o f eliminating the table— now the routine is completely in the hands. And, because you never remove the thumbscrew, not only do you finish reset, you are always reset. You start reset, and you stay reset the entire time until the trick ends, reset. Finally, when I went to make up my first deck for this trick, the only one way force deck in my magic drawer forced the King o f Diam onds. So while I was waiting for an Ace o f Diamonds forcing deck, I used the Ten, Jack, Queen, and Ace of Diamonds as the “hand” to which the gambler was drawing, with the King of Diamonds being the obvious target card. But when I got an Ace o f Diamonds forcing deck, I found I preferred the royal flush, so that’s what I use now. Maybe I’m just use d to doing it my way, but drawing one card to four seems more poker-like. One last time, I’m not saying that my adapted version is better than Jim Steinmeyer’s original. But I enjoy performing it even more than the origi nal. More importantly, it reflects my thinking on each of the details that I’ve changed, which m akes it easier for me to perfor m it effectively. This last point is often overlooked; when you adapt a routine to make it suit your personal style, magic philosophy, etc., it automatically makes your performance better, since you’re saying and/or doing things that are more natural to you.

References This script originally appeared in Jim Steinmeyer’s “Conjuring” column in Magic magazine, March, 1999. These columns have been collected in The Conjuring Anthology, a fantastic book which was published by Hahne in 2 0 06 . I f you are interested in creating better scripts for your magic, get this book. Don’t miss the final essay, which lays out a very simple and effective overview o f the process o f creating a finished piece o f magic.

Chop Cup

T * n this book I have leaned toward classic tricks, for two reasons. First, they are the ones you’re most likely to be performing, and thus of the most immediate practical benefit. And second, they’re the ones you’re

JL

most likely to have given some thought to, so they’re the most instruc-

tive, as well. I’ve already included a script for what is probably the most per formed of all tricks, the Ultra Mental Deck, popularized by Don Alan as the ‘‘Invisible D eck.” This script is for what might be the second m ost performed trick, the Chop Cup, also popularized by Don Alan. (Note to self: study Don Alan.) Joe M. Turner travels the world and greater Atlanta pe rforming magic pro fessionally, and in his spare time, reviews videos for Genii magazine. I am glad to be able to offer this script, with which he makes a liv in g— indeed, the one with which he closes his close-up set. Anyone who’s met Joe will not be sur prised that he would so generously agree to share his vast wealth o f perform  ing experience and professional success to inspire his fellow magicians. By the way, Joe’s set is very specific to the city of Atlanta. By the time he gets to this routine, he’s already produced a bottle o f Coca-Cola, described the Chattahoochie River, and mentioned Peachtree Street, Underground Atlanta, Buckhead, the Braves, and so forth. Following Joe’s script is one of my own, called "Fruit Cup.” I want to warn you right n ow— i f you are looking for a script you can use for your Chop Cup routine, this is not it. It’s not really a Chop Cup routine at all. Only one object appears under the cup, and there’s only one final load (obviously). It’s mostly an example o f how you can start with a standard trick, and end up with som e thing completely different.

Tomahawk Chop by Joe M. Turner Int—Private Party—Evening Joe stands at the table across from Alex. Joe Any baseball fans here? Living in Atlanta, I get to see a lot of good baseball. Joe opens a small cloth bag and removes a small metal cup and a mini-baseball, and hands them out for examination. Joe Do you like baseball? You can tell the difference between a ball and a strike, right? Alex Sure. Joe In fact, we’re going to have a little umpire training right now, using this small athletic ball and this small athletic... goblet. Please, take a look at the little baseball— it’s th e sort of thing you might find on a keychain at Turner Field, for about fifteen dollars! And the cup is actually aluminum—check inside and make sure there are no trapdoors, mirrors, or steroids. Alex checks out the cup. Joe Would you please drop the ball inside the cup? Take a look—does it fall through the bottom? Stick to the side? Go behind a secret mirror? No? Excellent. See how I have gotten you accustomed to paying att en tio n to th at ball? Now—le t’s review the basics. This cup represents the strike

zone. If the ball ends up in here, we call it a strike. If the ball goes outside the strike zone, it’s a ball. Under the cup, a strike; in my pocket, a ball. Got it? Alex Got it. Joe Great. Here comes the first pitch. Joe shakes the ball in the cup, then takes it out and puts it in his pocket. Joe That one was a little slow but I’ll go with it anyway. Now would you call that one a ball...

(pause) ...or a strike? Alex Ball. Joe Very good! That me an s the c ou nt is 1 and 0, I’m behind in the count, and you’re watching a little too closely! Joe brings out the ball from his pocket and puts it in his cup. He shakes it up, then puts the ball in his pocket and the cup on the table. Joe Here’s the next pitch—is it a ball or a strike? Alex Ball. Joe Ball is correct! The count is 2 and 0, I’m falling furthe r behind. Joe lifts the cup to show nothing on the table, and brings the


ball fr om his po cke t. The ball goes back in his po cket and the cup back down on the table. Joe Of course, one of the most important things about baseball is to pay attention to fundamentals. Keep your eye on the strike zone—because if you look away, that’s when the pitcher is going to slide one right under your nose. Joe lifts the cup to show that the ball has magically re appeared under it. Joe The count is 2 and 1—I’m still behind, but I’m catching up. Let’s tr y this one a bit faster. Joe holds the cup for Alex to drop the ball in. He swirls it around, then removes the ball and puts it in his pocket. Joe Would you call that a ball or a strike? Just call it as you see it! Alex Ball, [or Strike] Joe Ball is absolutely correct! Joe lifts up the cup to show that the ball is gone. Joe Way to watch the zone! And those of you who thought it was a strike... you were right, too! Joe lifts the cup to show the ball has re appeared underneath. Joe Now we’ve got a full count! It’s ti me for the payoff pitch!


Joe hums the familiar baseball park organ song that rises into the "Charge" fanfare. While doing so, he picks up the ball and puts it unmistakably in his pocket. Joe Would you call that a strike... Joe points to the cup. Joe ...or a ball? Joe indicates his pocket. Alex Ball, [or Strike] Joe lifts the cup to reveal a full-size baseball. Joe Whoops! Wild pitch! Since that was ball four, it looks like our batter is going to take a... Alex Walk. Joe Right. But in Atlanta, when we take a walk it’s usually do wn Pe achtree Street! Joe lifts the cup—out rolls a peach!

The End

Notes on Tomahawk Chop Joe sent along some notes: In this routine, I prompt the spectator to get the calls right when I ask him or her to participate. I f they resist, I always act as i f the spectator had it right all along. The humor is actually aided by the fact that I purposely “mis hear” what the spectator says, and yet I’m not putting the effect in their face as a “No, you got it w ro ng — try harder next time” sting. This approach definitely fits my personality better than a creating a challenge situation. No matter what Alex guesses, Joe twists the answer to make it right. Think about that for a second, or even more. Note the line where Joe hands out the cup: “Check inside and make sure there are no trapdoors, mirrors, or steroids.” This is a great example o f improv ing a necessary but uninteres ting moment. You want the audience to examine the cup, since all the magic happens inside it. An d you want this out o f the way as early as possible. The gag about steroids builds the baseball metaphor and draws attention to the examination process without slowing the show.

Method As Joe says, “This is the basic Don Alan routine.” I l l explain it enou gh that you can see how the moves align with the script, but I'm going to assu m e you know it. I f you own a Chop Cup, I believe you are legally required to know the Don Alan routine.

Setup Two final loads go in the pocket, along with the magnetic ball. The non magnetic ball is in the chop cup, which is in the cloth bag on the table.

Performance Hand out the cup and ball for examination, and launch into the presenta tion. If there was a controversial call in a recent Braves game, Joe'll talk about it here. While setting up the strike zone premise, put the ball in the pocket and switch it for the magnetic ball. Note how Joe stresses the word “ball.” If Alex says “Strike,” look at your pocket, raise your eyebrows, whisper “Ball” with a big fake cough — anything you can to elicit a “ Ball” call. I f Alex won’t go along, just say “ Ball is correct! Good call!” This is all a great opportunity for both hu mor and building a relationship with the audience.

Drop the magnetic ball into the cup, then pretend to remove it; put the cup wn

softly, without dislodging the ball. Ask Alex to call this one, and after

receiving the answer “ball,” lift the cup, showing it empty, and remove the (non magnetic) ball from your pocket. Again, if Alex says “strike,” prompt for "ball.” If Alex resists, act as if you heard “ball.” This is a guaranteed laugh. Put down the cup, dislodging the magnetic ball, and put the non-magnetic ball back in your pocket. Deliver the line about sliding one right under your nose, then lift the cup, showing that the ball has travelled back to the cup. To a magician this is the mo st ordinary thing in the world, but it's worth remem-

bering what an absolute miracle this is to the spectator. Don’t fall over in mock .1 we, but pause for a moment to let the people’s minds resonate. Acknowledge the miracle. Pretend to remove the magnetic ball and set the cup down gently. Put the ball in your pocket and secretly palm the baseball, but don’t bring it out yet (unless you’re comfortable palming a baseball). Ask Alex to call the pitch, and say “Ball is absolutely correct,” lifting the cup to show no ball underneath; dis lodge the ball as you put the cup down. You can say this line even if Alex says strike; actually it’s funnier that way. Either way, lift the cup, showing the ball; load the baseball as you do this. Openly put the ball in the pocket, bringing the hand out empty. Now you ask Alex if that pitch is a strike or a ball. As you say strike, point at the cup, and when you say ball, put your hand in your pocket, as an illustration o f what you are saying. This is where you steal the peach for the final load.

Adaptation You could take your favorite local sport and develop a version o f this script, but I think you’d only be getting half the point. It would be far better to take something o f interest where you live, and build a presentation around it. See how Joe involves the audience, an d relates everything back to the subject. Then do the same with your script.

References Don Alan’s Chop Cup routine is in In a Class by Himself by Jon Racherbaumer, L&L Publishing, 1996.

The Fruit Cup by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete brings out a small cloth bag. Pete I want to know, w ha t’s the b es t fruit in the world. Which is the best? I want to know. So I created... The Fruit Cup. Pete removes from the bag a small trophy in the shape of a cup. Engraved on its base is “The Fruit Cup”. Pete Tonight, we’re going to find out which is the best fruit in the world. Pete removes four or five pens and pieces of paper, and puts the bag aside. Pete I’ll need your help. Everybody take a piece of paper and a pen. Pete gives out the slips of paper, keeping one for himself. Pete Tear your piece of paper in half, then half again. Pete leads everyone in tearing each piece of paper in four. Pete Now, ta ke your pen and writ e th e name of a different fruit on each piece. Everyone begins writing. Pete Don’t fold each piece, that’s important, and drop each fruit in the cup. Feel free to put down an exotic fruit if you think


th at ’s best, but d on ’t think too h ar d —if it doesn’t come to mind quickly, it can’t really be the best fruit in the world. All the slips are now in the cup. Pete covers the top of the cup with his hand and shakes it vigorously. Then he upends the cup, letting the slips fall to the table. Pete Here’s how it works. All the face up fruits go back in the mug. Orange, apple, banana, lime, h ere’s another or ang e, lemon, quince. Quince? (reads it again, then shrugs) Quince. Face up fruits advance. The face down fruits are out. Jeez I hope quince doesn’t win. Pete shoves the face down slips in a pile to the side. Pete In your face, face down fruits. (reads some of them) Cherry, apple, t h a t’s okay, th er e’s an ot he r apple, p omegranate? Somebody thoug ht pomegranate was the best fruit? Pete picks up the cup and repeals the process of shaking it and dumping the slips onto the table. Pete Second round. It’s just like Survivor, only with fruit. Orange, banana, lime, apple, mango, peach. Who will win? Pete puts the face up slips in the cup, and shoves the losers into the discard pile. Pete We have some lovely parting gifts for our losers. They’re such losers! Pete shakes and pours.

SCRIPTING MAGIC [ 283

Pete

Banana and lime. You know, it’s a shame we eliminated the swimsuit competition. Shove aside the losers and hold up the cup of survivors. Pete Just two left. The tension is just incredible. For some reason 1feel like having a banana daiquiri to help me relax. Pete shakes the cup, then turns it over right onto the table. Pete (announcer voice) If for any reason the winning fruit can not fulfill its obligations, the runner up will assume the title. Pete lifts the cup, showing the last two slips. Pete Lime is the winner! Pete picks up and brandishes the winning “lime" slip. Pete And now, ladies and gentlemen, here it is. The best fruit in the world. Pete tips over the cup and a lime pours out.

The End

Notes for The Fruit Cup This is obviously not really a Chop Cup routine. But it is a good example, I think, of what can happen when you allow yourself to take a classic trick in a
Method Get a mini trophy— look under “trophy” in the yellow pag es— and have “Fruit Cup” inscribed on it. Get a nice faux-velvet bottle-of-wine gift bag at any decent liquor store. Now create a stack of pieces of paper, all about one inch square— you can cut these out o f printer paper quite easily. Alternately you can have a small pad o f paper and ask your audience to tear them as they are writing. In a formal setting, you can speed things up by having the pieces precut.

j

Performance When I do this trick I’m usually sitting at a table, so I start with the lim e in the bag and steal it into my lap after I bring out the cup. I f you are working standing, you can hide the lime behind the bunched up bag and steal it during the routine. Bring out the cup, pens, and paper, and have the audience begin writing fruits. Write “ lim e” on the top piece o f your stack, then do a double turnover and take the top (blank) piece of paper and drop it in the cup. Write “lime” on the top of the next piece and drop that in the cup as well. You now have a piece of paper with the word “lime” on both sides (and one that’s blank both sides) in the cup. Obviously, you can have this piece of paper prewritten and sneak it into the cup anytime. That way you can let the spectators write all the fruits. This has a certain hands-off quality that works well, although I think in


an informal performance it's natural i f you pitch in. Don't get so many slips in the cup that they won’t move around freely when you shake it. Once the slips are in the cup, shake them up and slowly pour them to the ta ble from about a foot up, so they flip over as they fall. As the right hand pours, drop your left hand into your lap and grasp the lime; you’ll do this every pour. If there are more than one face up slip, put the cup down, leave the lime, and put the face-up slips in the cup; and eliminate the face down ones. Obviously the lime-both-sides slip will survive every round, and at some point will be the only face-up slip. That’s the moment your left hand picks up the lime, and as you switch the cup into your left hand, so you can brandish the lime slip with your right, you load the lime into the cup. Crum ple the lim e slip, and pretend to drop it in the cup, then pour out the lime. You don’t know which fruits other people will write down, nor which ones will survive, so the script is really just a starting point. There are some lines you can say no matter what, and you can add quince yourself, so you can com men t on it. You do know that lime will make it every round, but too ma ny limerelated lines is risky. More importantly, you don’t know how ma ny rounds the competition will go. So if you have a favorite line (mine is the one about “ the run ner up will assume the title”), you migh t want to get that in too early rather than have to leave it out. Actually, it’s possible that you’ll get down to two fruits and both will be face up a couple o f times in a row. I just repeat the sam e line about the runner-up assuming the title, which becomes a little funnier each time. This really is a trick that you can’t just practice, you have to rehearse.

Adaptation If you feel like using any part of this crazy routine, be my guest. In fact, I dare you.

References This was inspired by Bill Goldman’s column in Genii magazine, January 2004. Thank for the inspiration as always, Bill. The same-both-sides force is often credited to Marcello Truzzi, who used coins. But the basic idea goes back to Hofzinser. Next they’re going to tell me Hofzinser came up with the idea for Ed Mario.

The Koornwinder Kar

I

think it is almost certain that no one will perform this script as writ ten. First of all, it's quite lon g— the first magical mom ent occurs two minutes into the routine. It's basically a seance. It also requires you to

go through a range o f emotions, and to reveal yo urse lf to your audience

dramatically. A nd — don't tell anyone— but this is really a piece of bizarre magic, which scares the hell out of most magicians. Finally, it calls for the performer to cry. So I think it's safe to say that few people reading this will adopt this as is. That's okay. You can read it, and study it, and you can learn a lot from it. You can learn how to take a simple card trick and make it a dramatic, moving, meaningful experience, while at the same time making it a profoundly real mystery. So you apply those lessons to the card tricks in your repertoire. If nothing else, you should know about the simple approach that creates a cli max the entire audience can experience, which is no small feat with this trick. I guarantee you this; you'll never be able to think of the Koornwinder Kar the same again. Bruce Barnett is a computer scientist and a truly dedicated amateur magi cian. Bruce leans toward bizarre magic, a branch of magic dedicated to the notion that a magic show should be a theatrical experience, which if you think about it isn’t really all that bizarre an idea. Perhaps a better name is Theatri cal Magic. An earlier draft of his script appeared in the Electronic Grymoire, an email-based magic d iscussion group w hich Bruce him self runs.


Jo e y ’s Hero by Bruce Barnett Int

—

Theater—Evening

Bruce has in front of him a very old metal cigar box. Bruce Sometimes the thing we dread the most... comes from within. Perhaps it’s just my imagination. Or it might be real. That’s why I need your help tonight. It’s all because of the contents of th is box. Bruce removes an old metal cigar box. He starts to open it, but hesitates. He takes a few deep breaths, and averts his eyes, then opens the box. Bruce Inside... Bruce reaches into the box, and removes something. He raises his hand, with the object hidden from view. Then something falls from his hand. It’s a yo-yo, and Bruce is holding the string, as the yo-yo unwinds downwards. Bruce ...mostly memories of my childhood. My mom didn’t want it in her house any more, no t tha t I can blame her. The man ifestation s are my bur de n now. And they’re getting worse. Joey and I kept this box in our tr ee fort, and spent hours up there. We listened to ball games. Bruce removes an old crystal radio shaped like a rocket ship. Bruce And talked about baseball and cars. Bruce removes some baseball cards, and a toy car.

Bruce They were great times. Bruce relives a dialog between two young boys. Bruce “When I grow up, I’m gonna get a red Mustang. ” “Oh yeah!? Well, I’m gonna get a red Mustang too, and drive all over th e U.S.” “Oh yeah?! I’m gon na drive to... Mickey Mantle’s house.” “Are you nuts? I’m going to driv e to Yogi Berra’s ho use.” Joey worshipped Yogi Berra. He tried to convince me Yogi was the best baseball player ever—better than Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Roger Maris. He never could. Bruce grins to himself. Bruce He’d also drive me crazy repeating some of those Yogi-isms, like “It ain’t over unt il it’s ove r” or “The f ut ur e a in ’t wha t it us ed to be.” I sp ent mo st of my sum me r with Joey. We did stupid boy things, like double dare each other, and put pennies on the railroad track. He was my best friend... Bruce picks up a flattened penny, and the memory comes back. Bruce ...until the accident. I told him to stay off the railroad tracks. He never listened to me. And then the train came... Bruce relives th at m om en t fro m long ago. It’s clear it’s still vivid in his memory. He takes a moment to gather himself. He looks at the baseball cards, and lays them out in a row. He places the car at one end. Bruce I had blocked out that dreadful day from my memory for years, until my Mom sent


me this b ox. Since then, I keep hearing Joey’s voice. Feeling his touch. And worse. Perhaps it is just my... imagination. Would you help me find out? Please? Bruce is worried and anxious. Alex comes forward to the table. Bruce Place your finger on the car, and close your eyes. I’ll mix up the baseball cards, face down. Now, push the card forward and tell me if you feel anything. Alex does so, and stops. Alex It won’t go anymore. Bruce turns over all the baseball cards. The one under the car is Yogi Berra. Bruce You felt it, right? It can’t be my imagination. Do you know what this means? Bruce looks into Alex’s face. Bruce Joey is here, in this room. Bruce looks at the audience, upset. Then he speaks to the air. Bruce Why, Joey, why? Tears fall from Bruce’s face. Bruce Why are you still here? Why haven’t you crossed over? What’s keeping you here? There is no answer. Bruce looks at Alex, perhaps for an answer.


Bruce Maybe Joey ’s still looking for his hero. Maybe he’s waiting for Yogi. Or maybe he’s waiting for me... to tell him... Bruce chokes up with emotion. Bruce I tried to tell him. I tried to send him a message. But he never listened to me. Please help me get through to him. Perhaps if we all try to send him a message, all of us, he will listen. Hold the hands of the person next to you, it will help. Everyone holds hands. Bruce Joey, can you hear me? Please listen to me. I have something special to show you. It’s a special post car d co mm emo ratin g Yogi’s induction into the Hall of Fame. And look! I had Yogi sign it for you! Bruce places the postcard in the center of the table. Bruce I’ve got a message for you, Joey, from Yogi. Are you listening? Joey? “When you come to a fork in the road... take it!” He gives the car a push. It rolls across the table and stops by itself, right on top of Yogi Berra. Bruce I am so sorry, Joey. You were right, all along. Yogi is one of the greatest baseball heros of all time. He played in 14 World Series, and won 10. He was an All-Star for 15 years in a row. As a manager, he lead the Mets to victory, and seven years later, the Yankees. Joey, you don’t need to be here any mo re . It’s time yo u mov e on.


Take the fork, Joey. Take the fork. It’s time to go home. Bruce listens. And listens. A look of hope appears on his face. Bruce Did you feel it? Did you feel that? I think... Could it be? Bruce gives the car a gentle push. It passes over the Yogi Berra card with no hesitation. Bruce He’s done it. He crossed over.

The End


Notes on Joey's Hero Bruce sent along notes of his own. I use several old items for this effect, and I antiqued those items that w ere new, so they all had the same apparent age. I have an old metal cigar

box, filled with a wooden car, a crystal radio shaped like a rocket ship, a yo yo, some baseball cards (including Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Roger Maris, etc), a flattened penny and in a plastic sleeve, I have a signed Yogi Berra postcard, com mem orating his entry into the Hall o f Fame. The rocket-ship crystal radio is a reproduction of something you could order from the back o f a comic book. I f s the stupid sort of gadget kids loved to get, along with X-Ray glasses, etc. I aged it with tinted wax/shoe polish. Sports cards are easy to get on eBay. You can either get original cards, or reprints. You can sign them yourself, or get real autographed cards. I aged the Koornwinder Kar a little, to make it look 30 years old. It’s a wooden car, suitable for the time period, and some sandpaper and shoe polish is all that is needed to age it.

Setup Everything fits inside the metal cigar box. Right before performance, I place the plastic sleeve and postcard in my jacket pocket, and prepare my se lf emotionally.

Performance The effect is a variation of the Koornwinder Kar, by Dick Koornwinder. The car stops twice. The first time it stops on top of a face-down card that happens to be Yogi Berra's card while the spectator is pushing it. The sec ond time it stops on top of the postcard when no one is touching the car. You can “set” the location where the car will stop. I use this twice. The first time, I show the baseball cards (I use 5) face up in a row, with the Yogi card in fourth position. I have the car “set” next to card # 2 . 1 then move the car aside, and turn the cards face down while the spectator's eyes are closed. I place the Yogi card face down in the spot where the car was before. When the spectator push es the car, it will stop on top of Yogi's baseball card. I used Dick's Koornwinder's suggestion that the car be pushed slowly. The effect is not the stopping o f the car, but of someone or something influ encing the spectator. The “influence” is not a subtle force, but a significant force. However, the audience doesn't know this.


For the second effect, I set the car in the center of the table, and when I put the postcard on the table, I move the car back to make room. I place

the postcard at the location where the car was. By giving the card a push, it stops suddenly without anyone touching the car. This was done to create a quick impact, and sudden effect. This allows everyone to simultaneously experience the effect firsthand, unlike the first effect. Nothing happens at the moment where the greatest “magic” happens. Less is more. This presentation provides an unforgettable emotional experience to the audience, happenin g in the present tense, as it can only occur once. I strive to present this in a sensitive manner.

Inspiration My inspiration came from Richard Mark's suggestion in 19 99 to use the Koornwinder Kar in a bizarre effect, although unk now n to me Dick has also suggested this years ago. I have played around with restless spirit effects before, (See my “Spirit Blocks” in New Invocation) but these were un satisfy ing because I was not directly involved with the story, and it did not have a peaceful conclusion. Telekinetic Timber was also too difficult to time pre cisely. The Koornwinder Kar can be controlled predictably and precisely.

References The wooden car is from Dick Koornwinder. It's a wonderful effect, and i f you respect creativity, you'll get the car from Dick Koornwinder him self, and not one o f the rip-offs.

Back to Pete Hocus Pocus magic shop (www.hocus-pocus.com/magicshop ) is an au thorized dealer of the Koornwinder car, and Tenyo recently introduced an authorized version for sale, which can be examined by the audience.

Michael Close: A Little Bit of Truth

W

hen I started writing this book, I knew that I would ask Mike Close to contribute som ethin g— and I knew that he would say yes. Because, although I had only met Mike in passing, I had read his classic Workers books, all of which include

complete performance scripts. And they’re not the kind of patter one often finds in books, which is just narrative, with maybe a good laugh line here,

or a line to justify a move there. (This is not necessarily a criticis m— many magicians believe it’s better to provide only a rudimentary presentation, to rncourage readers to develop their own.) They’re the kind of scripts written by someone who has given a lot of thought to how to present magic effectively. I also knew how seriously Mike takes helping other magicians; He has, as a writer, lecturer, and erstwhile product reviewer for M A G IC magazine, shared an enormous amount of hard-earned experience in exchange for what is, re ally, a paltry sum. So I knew that he would have thoughtful, insightful, and practical advice to offer on the subject, and that he would be willing to give it up for nothing more than a free book and a cup o f coffee. We met at Starbucks in Encino, and I was right on both counts.

Pete I gather from yo ur lecture that you don’t sit down and write scripts out in advance. Michael R igh t I’m not good at that. And the few times that I’ve tried to do that have not been p articularly suc ce ss ful. One of the things that really makes magic effective—especially close up work—is for it to sound as extemporaneous as possible. So even though the words are words I say over and over again, I do want it to at least feel to the audience that a lot of it is just right off the top of my head, just as if we were having a conversation.

Pete Paul Harris said “Close-up magic is like an enhanced conversation.” Michael Exactly. So, obviously I know what I’m going to say. But I always try to be flexible enough, without let ting the trick suffer, that if some thing happens I can go with that. Make a little diversion and get back with the trick. What I’m re ally conscious of doing is figuring out whatever the presentational or emotional hook of the trick is going to be. Because I really think you hav e to ask the question: Why should anybody bother to watch? There has to be something much

SCRIPTING MAGIC | 29S

more than here’s a trick, here’s a puzzle, here’s something to look at. If I can hook you into it before we even begin , if I can ta lk ab out something that’s interesting or unusual or funny, what have you, so that I sort of... before I even bring this thing out, I went to Ja pan, it was really strange. I get off the plane, and they have all these little stores where you can buy these little trinkets, these sou v e n irs — I’m ju st m akin g th is all up, and already and you think I’m about to tell you something very interesting.

Michael I can do a lot of the dirty work before you even believe that any thing has started. So what I do try to figure out is, in what way am I going to make this worth your time? So that I really can engage you befo re we la unch in to the magic. So even if you have resis tance to seeing a trick, well, you’re hooked already. Pete Even if I don’t want to see a trick, I want to hear the re st o f th e story.

Michael Pete You’d like to kn ow how th is tu rn s Absolu te ly . out. And then it feels very conver sational, and it doesn’t feel like a Michael gu y d oing a trick. One of the things You believed me right th ere , and that really bugs me now, and it’s I just did that off the top of my probably just my age more than head. But now, if I brought some anything, but I don’t like to be thing out of my lumped into that pocket and I said category—“here To be honest with you, “This is the cra comes the guy zy little thing,” who does tricks.” what I m about to say, w e l l — y o u ’ r e This is one of I dont really want hooked before the reasons that to broadcast to security. we even ge t for the last few into the trick. yea rs I’ve do ne Bob Farmer says I’m probably the card magic. Because in the envi most insidious guy he’s ever met ronment I was working in, a casi in terms of not knowing when the no, that seemed the most natural trick starts. prop to take out of your pocket. By introducing a deck of card s, it’s Pete more like something you picked You wro te about th at in Workers, up on the way in. I couldn’t see that the audience doesn’t know myself walking up to a table and w hen the tr ick starts, w hich is a taking out a pair of sponge balls, big opportunity. or a purse frame. Coins would be okay, but it would be better to do it with poker chips, really.


Pete I’ve always thought that most coin tricks are better with poker chips. Spellbound especially, a lot of times you can hardly tell the coins apart. I did David Roth’s Standup Copper/Silver Classic in a not-very-well-lit-room, and no body could tell the difference be tween the copper and silver coins. But pok er chip s — red, w hite, how could you miss? Michael If you consider the fact that the coins we use are not in circulation anymore, it’s not like you’re reach ing into your pocket for change, and doing a trick with it. You might as well use something that has a little more meaning. Pete You could use chip s from the ca sino you’re working at. Michael Exactly. So it’s this idea of some how sliding you into the situation. In Closely G uard ed Secrets I have a routine called “The Cheating Les son.” And I played this very real. When I w ould do it in the lo unge, before I started, I looked up to see w here the eye in the sky w as in re lation to the table I was working. I’d point out the eye, and I would turn my back to it. And I would explain how the eye works: “Wher ever you are in a casino, with two exceptions—the rest rooms and your p ersonal hotel roo m — you are being watched, 24 / 7 . And to be honest with you, what I’m about to say, I don’t really want to broad

cast to security. So if you don’t mind, I’m just going to stand here, and I tell you, I’ve been taking cheating lessons.” Well, what more do you have to say? People are hooked so hard, and off we go. So, since I don’t really script, what I do is figure out a plot. I do very much think about—in terms of the structure of the trick—where I have to say things, where it needs to be particula rly m isdirective, and I make sure I know exactly what to say when I say that. And then I ju st perform, because I’m very good at speaking extemporaneously. And through performances, things get work ed out, an d the pat ter finally gets to a point where, if I want to, I can sit down and type it out, be cause it’s become a script. But I still want it to look like—and this is an acting thing, and I have no training in acting—but it’s really the ability to say something that y o u ’ve sa id a th ousand times and make it sound like it’s never come out of your mouth before. Pete I know a lot of magicians who don’t like to script because they’re not good at saying something re hearsed and pretending that it’s not. But tha t’s wh at magic is — if you can’t do th at, where are you going to go? If you can fake put ting a coin in your hand as though y o u ’re really doin g it, th at’s no d if ferent from speaking something y o u ’ve reh earsed and soundin g like you’re just thinking of it.


Michael For me it’s very important when I’m doing magic in an environ ment that I can control to some de gre e— like when I was w orking in the Houdini Lounge, or even the bar in the Magic C as tle — I want the experience to be very real, so it feels more like an occurrence of daily life than a guy doing a show. So there’s very little that makes it feel like a show. If I just walk up to a table, I don’t want it to feel like oh, here comes the show. So the conversation there is what makes the whole thing real. For guys who aren’t particularly good at the ex temporaneous part, I think you’re probably going to have to script so that you know what you’re going to say all the way down the line. Pete Scripting doesn’t have to mean that you sit down and write it in advance. Michael I think what will always happen is, if you write out what you want to say, in performance you’ll carve it down. So the performing part will be an attrition of words, rather than more words. I think what’s going to happen is you’ll end up doing less and less to convey the whole th in g. But fo r me the big step is to ask the que stion — and this has been a driving force in every thing I’ve ever performed—what am I going to say when I do this? An d if I can’t th in k o f anyth in g interesting to say, then I simply don’t do the trick. I don’t do a lot of the classics. I don’t do the Cups


and Balls, I don't do the Lgg Bag, 1 don’t do the Linking Rings. Simply because I have no idea, other than telling you what you’re seeing, w hat I would say when I’m per forming it. And I think that pat ter that simply tells people what th ey’re seeing is une ntertainin g. I see so many guys whose patter is “Look look. Look look. See? Watch. Look. See? Look. Watch.” That does nothing to me. All that does to me is emphasize the puzzle. I find it uninteresting. Pete One of the things that sets the Workers books apart is that there is no trick that isn’t thoroughly integrated with its presentation. So if you want to learn it, the first thing you have to do is extract the trick, and then put it in your own presentation. Michael I feel so strongly that the presen tation be completely melded with the method and the actions and eve ryth ing else. What I have found interesting... when I went back and we relaid out the old Workers books, ’cause I hadn’t read them in a long time, is to discover how lit tle of the patter—which I used fif teen or twenty years ag o— fits me now. It simply doesn’t suit me. Pete It was written for a different per son. Michael Y e s— it all co m es ou t o f who I am at the time. And it also comes out

the patter, and more importantly of the venue that you’re working In. A lot of the early magic came when you se e oth er peo ple do the tricks with Don’s presentation, Irom the Max and Erma’s restau rant, a lot of the middle stuff came y ou ’ve gotta kno w that he w as such an influence back then. He during the Illusions years. And defined closethose were plac up magic for fif es that allowed Once I get the big rock teen or twenty a little sillier ap years. So if you proach to what rolling we can do did The Benson you did. You what we have to do. Bowl, Chop Cup, could be goofy But I dont want Invisible Deck, withou t it fe e l everybody was topush it a mile ing out of place, using Don’s pat because Max and before we actually ter. Even if he Erma’s was kind get to the trick. hadn’t published of a funky, noisy it, it was on TV, kind of place. everybody used it. And the lines They used to have telephones on come across as being really smart the tables so you could call other tables, things like that. And Illu ass when you listen to it. And then I finally saw Don work, I got those sions, of course, was specifically Magic Ranch tapes. And he is the designed as a magic restaurant. most innocuous, inoffensive, When I got to the Houdini Lou nge, nice—still saying the same words, I found a lot of that just wouldn’t but when they come out of his fit. Because people who walked in mouth, they just sound different. didn’t know that I was going to It’s like we have with the Inter come up and do magic for them. It net. Sarcasm doesn’t work on the w asn’t the sa me th ing as goin g to internet, because nobody can tell a magic-themed restaurant. And the tone of your voice. And this so I found my old presentations is what happened: People sim and words didn’t fit me, and if I said them it would be like you do ply misinterpreted those words. So the first thing anybody’s gotta ing my patter. That’s how different d o— the first thing I’ve gotta do to it was. I saw a guy do one of my go back and do the old material—a tricks, he simply used my patter word fo r word . It was the single lot of it I really have to change the patter. I can’t do it anymore. creepiest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. And I took him aside and said Pete “You really need to work out what People will read a sleight in a you ’re goin g to say here. Becau se book, but they always want to it just doesn’t fit you at all.” see it. Then they’ll read a line in a I had always thought that Don book and perform it without hear ing the way it’s done, and often Alan w as the fa ther of the w is e-ass that’s just as important, how a line magician. Because when you read


is delivered, like the way a move is performed.

get that they're on the same team. And there is no an im osit y there, and you get fooled that way. When Michael they do the Water Torture, the Of course, the danger there is last thing you’re going to suspect there’ll be a great tendency to is how the card gets to Teller, be ju st mim ic, which is a big prob cause it all appears that they’re not lem. I’m thoroughly convinced on the same team. The Card Stab that one of the reasons people that they used to do, where Teller hold magic in general in such low apparently stabs the knife through esteem is that they’re convinced Penn’s hand, may be the greatest w e’re all the sa m e gu y. There ’s card trick I’ve ever seen. Because the dove guy, and there’s the il at the moment it happened, it felt lusion guy, and there’s the coin absolutely real, that this guy may and card guy, and you just slap a have just gotten pissed off enough different head on, and that’s who that he’d shove that knife through we are. An d the re aso n is that so his partner’s hand. They did it on few who perform make any effort Letterman, and his expression, to establish personality. I think when that happened, for that mo there’s a bravery thing here. A lot ment he was a guy on the scene of guys get into magic to cover up of a car accident. It was an abso deficiencies in social skills. The lutely brilliant moment. last thing they want to do is stand in front of a group of people and And not only have they estab give them any idea who they re lished their personalities, but they ally are. They want to hide behind have actual content, intellectual the tricks, and the easiest way to content. It is a show of ideas. Now, hide behind the tricks is to use you m ay or may not agre e with somebody else’s patter. those ideas, but art isn’t about agreement, it’s about expression. One of the things that makes Penn And if you ch oose to em bra ce it, and Teller so great is that they fine, if you choose to disagree, have such clearly defined person fine, but at least you’re offering alities, number one. Number two, ideas. And that rarely happens in from a drama standpoint, you magic. Magic is often just about have two personalities in direct looking at the pretty face, it’s not conflict. The little guy who doesn’t at all about content. say anything, the big guy who w on’t shut up. And it serves a cou Pete ple of purposes. It produces great I’m not a professional performer, conflict in the audience, wonder but I know there are some venues ing “Are these guys gonna walk off w here you can barely get yo u rse lf the stage alive?” And number two, across, much less any content. It if you buy into the premise that might be inappropriate to walk up there’s animosity there, you for to someone at a party and try to


present something that’s a little unsettling. Michael It’s much easier to do in a theat rical setting, where they come in and sit down, you have all the trappings of theater. The things 1 do I’m not trying to get across any content that way, but the one thing I do like to try to do, by mak ing the show as real as possible, is to put people in a strange place whe re th eir heads and th eir hearts are in conflict. This is the moment that I find sublime. Rene Lavand calls it exquisite anguish. Be cause your head says “That can’t be real. I know that what I just ex perienced wasn’t real.” And your heart goes “That was the most real thing—that was a real as walking down the street.” That’s how real it feels. And we don’t like that in our lives. We don’t like that. It sort of wakes you up, it’s like a bucket of water on your head. Which is the thing I really like to do. But I’m very lim ited in offering any kind of intellectual content, in terms of my world view. Simply because the venue doesn’t allow that to happen very often. Pete The only venue I can think of w here you can do that is the Clo se Up Room at the Castle. But you’d have to have a separate act just for that one venue. Michael Rene Lavand is prob ably the stron gest close-up guy I’ve ever seen at imparting an emotional experi

ence to the au die nc e. And reall y I think the subtext of what he talks about, which resonates with the audience, is overcoming this pro found disability. Pete For him to perform at all, no mat ter what he does, is going to upset your vie w of what you can do with only one arm. Michael An d wha t becom es so emotional, what gets exp resse d there, is the ability to overcome this, to do these things one-handed that a person shouldn’t be able to do two-handed. And that’s not an intellectual message, it’s an emo tional message. But it’s content. An d m aybe that’s what I’m do in g, trying to get an emotional mes sage rather than an intellectual message. I am very disappointed with most perform ers that 1 watch , simply because they do nothing that in any way grabs me. They’re ju st doin g tr ic ks. And at th is sta ge in my life I’ve seen enough tricks. I’ve seen more than enough. I re ally want to see something more than that. Pete When you perf orm , since y o u ’re work in g con vers ationally, do you sp ecif ic ally desig n se gm ents where you can in te ra ct with the spectators, or do you just let it come up because it’s going to come up anyway?

SCRIPTING MAGIC

Michael looking at me saying “Oh nice I tend not to factor that in. One tricky trick, magic boy.” That’s a of the things that most guys do prime example of letting the leash incorrectly, I feel, especially in a out, letting her be the star of this close-up venue where it is con moment. And some of them are hi versatio n al, is to let the sh ow slip larious with the venom they use. away from you, and not be able to maintain control. So I’m very care Pete ful when I work, to clearly define They’ve been waiting a long time those moments when I’m letting to say that. the show slip out into the audi Michael ence for a minute, and it’s always a very tight rein. So that even Now, there’s as good a reason for though somebody may be naming the cards to fall as there was for a card, picking a card, showing it them to stay. And now, the whole around, I am still the show. I’ve trick, there’s not a word of “patter” seen this with standu p com ics who in that. Everything is situational, the very first thing they do when everything comes out of the mo they walk out on stage is go “Hey, ment. w her e are you from ? What do yo u do?” And the show just goes off Pete the stage and in the audience, and Because you started by telling a unless you’re a great comic, a lot story, and because the audience of times you never get it back. w ants to kn ow the end o f that story, any time control goes out When I sta rte d doin g the m agne to the audience, you can always tized cards, I had a presentation. bring it back, because you control I figured out why do the cards the story. So the spectator gets to stick to me — I’m the most attrac have their moment, but as soon as tive guy in Las Vegas. But in order that moment is over, it’s back to to make the cards fall, I used Gary you. So that’s one benefit you get Plants’ patter, which was simply from developing a presentation give me a number between five out in advance, by having a good and ten— six — count to six, one presentation, it’s much easier for two three four five, and when they you to kee p con trol. Because the reach six, the cards drop. And audience wants to hear how it that’s okay, but it has nothing to ends. do with what has come before. An d then, in perfo rm ance, all of Michael a sudden I hit on this idea, that Right. And you know, the story I’m w h at’s hold in g th em up is my in  talking about here is not the 13 flated ego, this big balloon of ego year-o ld kid sta ndin g up an d goin g holding the cards up. And so to “The last time I went to India...” get them to fall, we just rein that Most of the patter that I came up in. I get that line with the woman with durin g the Hou dini Lounge


days simply was about the fact that I was a gu y fr om In diana who wa s li vi ng in Las Vegas, and wh at wa s that all ab ou t? And th at’s how a lot of that patter worked out. Pete Sure. Because most people in Ve gas don’t live there, and they won der what it would be like to live there. I’ve thought that myself.

vid eos. Th e Po wer part is “Why does the magic happen? What is in the body of the trick that pro vid es the power fo r the m agic ?” Take the Luckiest Cards in Las Vegas. These card s surv iv ed b e ing blown up in the implosion of the Desert Inn Hotel, unscathed, untouched, they have to be the luckiest cards in Las Vegas. Well, I bought them at the Gambler’s Supply House. But for the moment that trick is going on, those cards have the power. I like that. I don’t have to be told how good I am. I don’t have to demonstrate these things as if they are examples of my skills. I’d much rather have the magic just occurring.

Michael Ixactly. So that gives me my hook. Ye ars ag o, 30 years ago, I gave a little lectu re in Indian apo lis for the local club. And I did the coin trick, the “Too Ahead” routine that’s in Workers. But the coins I kept in a little beaded purse. And I would explain that it was my grandmoth So I think a real good way to de er’s purse, and I would tell a long velo p a p re senta tion is to ju st ask story about how she gave it to me. y o u rse lf “Where did this th ing And th at’s w hy I don’t use a le ath come from? Why does it hap er purse, because this is an impor pen? How can I do this?” This is the kind of thing tant thing to me. that makes a I can tell you a show great for story about this, They want to an audience. and it has mean hide behind the tricks, ing to me, and and the easiest way to Michael Skin immediately it hide behind the tricks is ner had a great has meaning to you because th is to use somebody else’s patter. w ay to keep in practice with is a little heir tricks that you loom. And a guy said “Couldn ’t you jus t use a leath w ould n’t really do fo r laymen . Tricks that are magician foolers, er purse and lie about it?” And I said “I’m lying about this. I bought that have a procedure that’s so involved it’s hard to make it com this at a five and ten.” But the lie mercial. What he used to say is sounds so much more convincing “You know, several times a year about a little beaded purse than magicians get together for con about a coin magic purse. ventions. And one o f the th in gs David Regal talks about this in his we love to do is tr y to fool ea ch Power ; Premise, and Presentation other, and I’ve been working on a


trick specifically designed to fool magicians. Would you like to see it?” Well, you couldn’t have a bet ter hook than that. And that gives you the ch an ce to do anyth in g, b e cause he’s prefaced it with the fact that this is for a specific audience. I came up with a hook one time, I w ould say “Eve ry year the five best card c heats in the United States get together in Las Vegas for a week end. And they rent a big suite, and for three days they discuss all the new cheating techniques, all the new scams, and all the tech nology. This year when I saw the other four guys, I showed them this.” And they’re hooked.

of developing material. So what we are gett in g is th is g u y ’s varia  tion of Reset, Matrix, Collectors, Coins Across, the same fields. And w e’re m ovin g horiz onta lly, from varia tio n to varia tion, an d w e’re not moving forward. What really needs to be done is to find your inspiration outside of magic lit erature, whether that means go ing to legend, going to myth, go ing to history. I love books about the unusual history of things. How did the zipper get invented? Be cause if you read things like that, you can sort of find m ag ic effects within th ose th in gs . Yo m ay ev en find an effect where no one has come up with a good working for, An d th is is what I w ould love to and then you’re in fresh territory. see. Now, there is a delicate bal I have a trick that I’m working on, ance between the story and the and I was talking about it with trick itself. Basically all I’m trying Paul Harris. And he says “How did to do is get this rock rolling. And you co m e up with that?” And I said once I get the big rock rolling we “Well, I didn’t get it from a magic can do what we have to do. But I book. I went outside of magic.” don’t want to push it a mile be And th at to me is the w ay to do it. fore we actually get to the trick. So there is a compromise. Pete Have the advantages of scripting Pete changed as you’ve matured as a What are the le ss ob vio us benefits performer? of a good presentation? Michael Michael One thing that having a story I think one big advantage is that does is it gets you over the hump the more you do this, the better of guys who do tricks. Because you ge t at it. It d oesn ’t take me there’s always those people on very long to find a hook any more. their guard, who say “I don’t want I can think about something for magic.” But if you can get them a few hours, and I find a way to with w ords firs t, you establis h go at it. One of the big problems y o u rs e lf as an in terestin g pers on, in magic right now is that we are someone worth talking to. I’ve al plowing the same fields that we w ays said , if you ’re not v ery in  have plowed for 35 years in terms teresting to talk to without doing


bring out a deck like that, there magic tricks, you're not going to should be a reason why you have be very interesting when you do magic tricks. They ate not some a deck like that. So I s a y — and I thing that changes your personal think this presentation popped into existence about five seconds ity. Of course, this is how magic is sold. And tha t’s one of the lie s— be after I started playing with the deck—“I first the life of the started playing party. And that I always love it when there's poker when I isn’t going to be a little bit of truth to the lie. w as 13 ye ars old. the case. So one And every tim e I of the benefits That's allyou need. w as in a ga m e, of doing it this I just need enough truth and I got really way is th at it’s that I believe it. lucky, before I going to force left that game I yo u to ge t out snuck a card out of the deck, and side of magic, understand what’s took it home as a souvenir. Now I going on in the world. And that by itself is going to make you a more w as 13 , I’m 52 now, I’ve been do w ell-rounded pers on, making you ing this for 39 years. And I’ve got a full deck.” And now I spread this interesting to be around whether rainbow deck on the table, and you do a m ag ic tric k or not. y o u ’re hooked. Pete Pete If you have a trick that’s ju st about the trick, it won’t reveal anything And th ey’re no t ra ndom card s... about you. But if you say that a Michael guitar player showed you this ...they’re your lucky cards. trick, well, how did you know a guitar player? Do you also play Pete guitar? Are you in a band? Or was it a friend or relative? You co uld do the sa m e idea in a different direction: I was cheating, holding out a card, and I couldn’t Michael At the C astle , I’ve been doin g put it back. Same presentation, Lennart Green’s version of “Gem but a completely different person. ini Twins” with the Rainbow Deck Martin Nash could do it that way. that A-l MagicalMedia sold. What Michael Lennart had done is accumulate lots of different decks of poker A bso lu te ly . And as part of that sized cards, and put together trick, you have to bring out two extra cards that they’re going to these decks, and they sort of just slapped this Gemini trick with it. use to find the mates. Well I could take them out for no reason, but Well, you ca n ju st bring ou t th at deck and do a trick with it, but I don’t. I had my friend Norman Beck mail me some envelopes that does n’t make any sense. If you


from his work at SCA Promotions, Michael which is an underw ritin g com pany Every trick you want to do, the first for gaming events. I take out this question you have to ask is: what old envelope, and I say “My buddy does this trick mean to me? Why Norman does the same thing, and is this trick important enough to he sent me some lucky cards from me that I should bother to show his collection. We’ll try something it to you? with it .” So every pro p has a m ea n Pete ing. It isn’t just a trick. This is the kind of thing I find fun to do. I al Not why is this trick important to w ays lo ve it when th ere’s a little the audience, why is it important bit of truth to the lie. That’s all you to me the magician? need. I just need enough truth that Michael I believe it. Then you believe it, and when you believe it, we have Suppose your hobby were carving something far more entertaining. little animals out of wood. If you I really think that the great thing spent enough time and care work abou t magic is that it can — I’ll tell ing on that, you’d probably want you, hav e you seen Shaun of the to show me what you’ve come up with. Beca use you spent a lot of Dead? time on it and a lot of hard work. Now, imagine you said “Look, I Pete carved that, it’s yours.” I would I haven’t. say “Wow, what a lovely gift.” Something you really spent a lot Michael of time on and you’re giving this The whole point of the movie is, we are all zom bie s, w heth er we to me. Why is magic any different have become zombies or whether than that? we have sto pped payin g at te ntion Pete to what’s going on around us. And that’s the thing that magic does My performance is a gift. best. It just throws a bucket of wa ter on people. And just for a min Michael ute it wakes them up and reminds It’s gotta be a gift. Art is a gift. Art them to stop being a zombie and is my saying, you know, I look at look around and see what’s going the world this way, take a look and on. And I think that’s a great thing see if that means anything to you. that magic can do, but it so seldom It means an awful lot to me. Some happens, because it simply isn’t times not all art touches people. presented in a way that anybody But it doesn’t have to. The whole point is in the offering. It’s not can get that meaning out of it. what I’m gett in g ou t o f it. It’s fo r the audience to have a chance to Pete How do I put in that meaning? go home and say what a beauti ful thing, thank you for letting me


take a look at that. Now If you start with you. When Ju an Tam ariz per looking at your presentations that forms, when he works in English, way, you ask yourself^ first: why is he doesn’t have the greatest patter this im po rtant to me? Okay, this I in the world. But what he has is think is a fabulous effect, I think an enthusiasm and an excitement it’s absolutely amazing. Well, how about what he’s doing that has to did I come about knowing how to wra p you up. If you make that firs t do this thing? Is it a skill that I ju m p, ju st on on e tr ick that y o u ’re doing, then you really can work it learned? Did a gypsy put a curse on me? Is it something my grand out. father had and it’s been passed down through my family for years Pete and it does one really incredibly To think that the point of all the thing? If you ask yourself where hours I spend on magic is to give did it come from, why does it do something to someone else, that what it does, who has the po wer, really changes the equation. and then you couch it in terms of something that makes sense Michael to your life, immediately you’ve How often do you see magic per ju m ped a m illion m iles ahead formed that you have any sense of the way most guys do magic that this is why the guy’s per tricks. Sometimes it’s just “Why is forming—because he wants you it important to me?” Michael Skin to have something special? All I ner didn’t have the greatest patter need from my audience is, when I say this is for you, and your face I’ve ever heard. Sometimes it was pretty mundane. But there was does... that] your eyes open and something about the way Skinner you go “What?” You’re asto nis hed. did magic that it was so obvious That’s all I need. Now I know why I’m doing this. that this meant a great deal to him. That he was so entranced with this that he couldn’t wait to share it T h e E n d


Scripting and Repertoire

f you make a list of all the tricks in your repertoire, it will probably be long. But if you make a list so you can write a script for every trick in your repertoire, yo ur list will only include the tricks you really do. One of the biggest benefits of writing scripts for every trick in your repertoire is that it causes you to think about every trick you do, and decide if it's really in your repertoire or not. I’m not sure you can claim that a trick is in your repertoire if you're not willing to write your script down. How good are the tricks you do? I go to the Magic Castle most every week, and I meet several of my fellow magicians. We show each other tricks, and give each other honest feedback. And the first thing I consider is this: There ar e— at least— 10,0 00 magic tricks. Your repertoire will have maybe twenty. Is this one o f the twenty best tricks in the world? The answer, almost every time, is no. Now, there’s nothing wrong with working on a trick that’s not one of the twenty best in the world. Sometimes you’re exploring. There’s always a place for a quick impromptu trick with common objects. And ultimately, trying a trick is the only way to find out if it’s one of the best twenty tricks in the world. But if you’re going to put in the time to make a trick part of your working repertoire, that’s a real commitment. Why would you want to make an inferior trick a part o f your repertoire? What tricks are really in your repertoire? Are they the best tricks in the world? Are they worth writing a script for? I f a trick isn’t so good that you are willing to spend the tim e developing, learning, and rehe arsing an effective presentation, find one that is. You might start with the tricks in this section, which have all proven them  selves to be am ong the very best. You can put any one o f them into your reper toire, and if someone asks i f it’s one o f the twenty best tricks in the world, you can answer “yes” with complete confidence.


The $10 0 Bill Switch

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This is really a fun presentation for one o f the most compelling effects you can do. The hook is irresistible, and the m agic effect develops so naturally that

the c limax is very m ystifying. It's an intrig uing trick to perform in a situation where people don't know you are a magician, as it causes many people to be come seriously weirded out. It's a simple idea, but I think it may well be original, which is to say an origi nal application; I can say that it's not included among the 6.02 x io 23 routines in SWITCH , John Lovick's ode to the $ 10 0 Bill Switch. You can learn it quickly if you already do the bill switch, and easily i f you don't. The packet you have to hide is well covered during the routine, both physically and by misdirection. 1’he handling is extremely clean and well-motivated. This trick looks exactly the same as it would i f the magic were real.

Double Your Money Back by Pete McCabe Int — Store—Day Pete is standing in line with Alex, waiting to pay. Pete brings out his wallet. Pete Can you help me out? Pete opens his wallet and takes out a dollar-sized piece of white paper, blank on both sides. Pete Can I borrow a twenty? I’ll give it right back. Alex hands Pete a twenty. Pete Great. Are you sure it’s good? Pete holds the twenty up to the light and examines it minutely. Pete Looks good. Pete lays the blank paper on the twenty and holds them up for all to see. Pete You know, co unterfeiting got really bad in the early 1900s. Pete folds the two items two or three times with the blank paper inside the twenty. Pete The government printed a booklet, how to recogn ize real mo ne y— you know, the flag on the ten is upside down, things like that. So the counterfeiters printed


their own counterfeit how to recognize real money booklet, which told people that the counterfeit bills were real. I’ete holds up the packet and checks his watch. Pete This is not— technic ally— counterfeiting. Still, don’t tell anybody you were here. I’ete nods at his watch; time’s up. He unfolds the twenty to reveal that the blank piece of paper has changed into another twenty. Pete Here you go. Pete returns the borrowed bill. He keeping the newly printed twenty, which he puts in his wallet, right in the place where the blank paper was just a minute ago. Pete Thanks.

Notes on Double Your Money Back I f you have any facility for manipulating small objects, you really should give this trick a try, if only to see the look on your spectators’ faces as you hand back the borrowed twenty. When the paper changes into a bill, it’s very clean and deceptive, and they’re reacting to it like a magic trick, and then you can see their brain begin to slow down as they take back the bill. Som ehow the fact that their bill was used makes everything seem real. Sometimes people will react as though the bill is haunted, and then they have to put it in their pocket. It’s a lot of fun. By the way, it’s true that in the early 19 0 0 s the governm ent printed “ How to Detect Counterfeit Money” pamphlets, and the counterfeiters made their own counterfeit “How to Detect Counterfeit Money” pamphlets. Nothing like a true and interesting fact to occupy the mind w hile you ’re doing a bill switch.

Method Because you have two pieces of paper with which to hide your folded bill packet, the handling is incredibly casual and easy. And the nature of the ef fect motivates the folding in a way that’s subtle, but which preciou s few o f the hundreds of bill switch routines in existence can match.

Setup Take two twenties an d lay one on top o f the other. Hold both bills facin g you and fold three times: fold the left side away from you to the right, fold the left side away from you to the right again, then fold the top away from you down. You should have the index o f a twenty facing you and another on the other side. The crease is on the top of the packet. Cut a piece o f white paper the size o f a dollar, then trim an eighth o f an inch from each dimension (so the white edges don’t show when it’s folded inside the twenty). Prefold it the same as the bills you just folded, then unfold it and put it in your wallet. Tuck the folded twenties behind it.

Performance Brin g out your wallet and remove the paper with twenties concealed behind it. Borrow a twenty and place it face down on top of the blank paper. Now remove the blank paper and look at it on both sides, then lay it back on the twenty. This shows both paper and bill on both sides, while keepin g the twen ties packet well hidden. Hold up the bill and paper with the paper toward the audience, at eye height so everyone can see. The folded packet, crease on top, is aligned with the lower right corner o f the twenty.

Now you fold tin* left side away from you to the right, with the blank paper inside the twenty. Fold the left sides away from you to the right again, and fold the bottom away from you and up. With this fold the twenties packet will come into view. You have just switched bill packets— the one with two twenties is lacing Alex. Now unfold the twenties, this time keeping the blank/twenty packet hid den. Unfold the top away from you and down, then unfold the right edge away f rom

you and left, and finally unfold the right edge away and to the left again.

At this point the spectators can begin to see that a m iracle has happened, but it’s not until you separate the bills that they are sure of what they are seeing. Keep the blank/twenty packet behind the “new” twenty, and return the other bill to Alex with thanks. Don’t forget to tuck your new twenty (and hidden packet) back into your wallet, where the blank paper was.

Variation You can do this trick with any bill Alex gives you. Prefold a pair of fives, tens, twenties, and hundreds, and slide them all under the blank. Ask for any denomination, and whatever Alex hands you, steal the matching packet as you remove the blank.

Adaptation The first question you have to decide is, are you going to play this as real or a performance? Circumstances m ay dictate this somewhat, but even in the Close-Up Room o f the Magic Castle, where everyone knows y ou’re a magician, you can still play it real.

References This technique is based on John Lovick’s “100th Dollar Bill Change” from SWITCH , by John Lovick. This book is the ultimate reference on this seminal close-up trick. I f you do the bill switch, you must have this book; you’re virtu ally guaranteed to learn something you can use. If you don’t do a bill switch, you should definitely get this book, so you can do one. Also, if reading this leaves you desperate for a magic book with pictures, SWITCH has 700 illus trations.

The only things worth watching in this or any other world are those that identify and overcome the ordinary.

Chuck Jones SCRIPTING MAGIC

The Eleven Card Trick

dward Victor’s “Eleven Card Trick” has spawned many variations. Just in my library alone are versions by Derek Dingle, David Wil liamson, Paul Harris, Eric Mead, and Bill Malone. I’m sure there are others. The number of cards varies, but the plot stays the same*. The magician needs a certain number of cards for the next wonderful trick, but has one too few. The spectator then gives the magician a card, but when the packet is counted there’s still one missing. No matter what the magician and spectator do, the packet never quite has the righ t num ber o f cards. Finally, the performer gives up on performing the classic “Eleven Card Trick.” For such a near-classic, this trick is quite problematic. Dramatically it’s a letdown, going on about the great “Eleven Card Trick,” and then you can’t do it. The final line o f the effect in The Classic Magic o f Edward Victor is this: “In desperation, the trick is abandoned.” This is not the description of a stirring climax. The script in The Magic of Edward Victor's Hands blames the spectator for this anticlimax(l): “ Well sir, since you cannot give me eleven cards, I cannot show you the eleven card trick.” A lot o f m agicians and bad TV sitcom s use this idea o f prom ising some thing great and then never quite getting to it, and it gets a weak reaction every time. In the world of TV writing, a bit like that is known as a jerkoff. It’s not a compliment. Magically, the trick is, I think, poorly structured. It starts with the specta tor counting the cards into your hand. This is really the strongest moment of the trick, because the spectator did the counting. Most of the counts after this are done by the magician, which is less impressive. At one point there’s a bit where instead o f adding one card, you add three and take away two, which is even weaker magically, although it plays well as a comic moment. However, there is no doubt that the beats of the trick play. You won’t see Derek Dingle, Dave Williamson, Paul Harris, Eric Mead, and Bill Malone all performin g a trick if it doesn’t play. Now, you can say: these problem s must not really be problems at all, if the trick plays, so forget them. Or you can say: this trick must have something if it can still play despite these problems, so let’s work at fixing them. Guess which approach Eric Mead and I prefer?

Take Two Here you have two different scripts for the same trick— one by Eric Mead and one o f mine. So, obviously, look at the differences between these scripts. It shouldn’t be hard — they’re about as different as two scripts for the same


liick can be. Also note how Eric involves the audience as his accomplices in performing the trick. The spectatorrare not just watching or assisting — they’re literally taking responsibility for the performer's eyesight. They have an important job in a trick which goes all wrong. Th ese responsibilities are, in the context of the performance of a trick, very real. It brings the spectator “in on it” in a great way. And the more the spectator feels involved, the more the magic seems real. You can also look at m y attempts to involve the audience, wh ich will seem .j|most pathetic after Eric's.

An Example Because Eric's presentation is based so strongly on generating interaction with the audience, it's som ewhat o f an exercise in futility to provide a script, as tllough you could learn it and perform it that way. Every performance of this trick will be different— as different as each audience is from the next. As Eric and I were working on the best way to represent this fluid process in a solid script, he wrote: The card choosing and replacement, and even the first count of ten is done without a script. I start out “playing” with the audience and using their names, their lives and relationships, and whatever is happening in real time to “ad lib” this section. Th is is the heart of live performance closeup magic. The script that follows is an example o f the kind o f interaction Eric gener ates, not a rigid script he tries to follow each time. So when you read this script, don't think o f learning it so muc h as learning from it. See the kind o f interaction it can generate. Think o f other things that can generate this kind of reaction. Think of how you could integrate them into the tricks you do.

The Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card by Eric Mead Int Theater—Evening —

Eric stands at a table opposite Adam and Eve. Eric Hey, I’ll show you something really rare. I’ll try to do something that has been attempted by lots of notable magicians over the past four decades, but to my knowledge has never been successfully performed. It’s a bit of dangerous material in that sense. A thing that’s been talked about by many, attempted by few, and completed successfully by virtually no one. Until tonight. Eric spreads a deck of cards and hold it out toward Adam. Eric Adam , slide a card out of there and sh ow it to your child bride. Ad am picks a card and sh ows it to Eve. Eric You’ve alr ea dy shown that you ca n’t be trusted, so show the card around to a few other people and ask them politely to help you remember it. The “politely” threw you off, didn’t it? I thought so. So just ask them nicely. Eric spreads the deck toward Adam, who puts his card back. Eric dribbles the deck to the table. Eric The trick I’ll try to do is unusual because it has an official title. It’s called The Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card. Obviously I’m going to need how many cards, Adam?


Adam

Ten? Eric Are you asking or telling? Yes, exactly ten cards. The Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card. I ric deals ten card s in a row on the table. Eric (to himself) One two three four five six seven eight nine ten. (to audience) The reason this trick is so, well, tricky to pull off is that the magician must do it while blindfolded. Why? No one really knows, but that’s the way it is. My show, my rules. Adam, are you familiar with bli ndfold s? Is your child br ide? Hold this tightly over your eyes, and tell me if you can see anything. Adam No. Eric Terrific, I’ll tie it tightly over my eyes and we’ll give this a shot. Eric ties on the blindfold. Eric Okay Adam, I’m trusting you now. Scoop the ten cards together and hold them in your hands. Adam picks up the ten cards. Then the re ’s a pause. Eric You’ll have to actually tell me when you’re ready. I’m—you know—blindfolded.

Adam

I’m ready. Eric Okay, The Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card. Adam, cut the packet you hold anywhere and then slowly count them all into my left hand. Adam cuts the cards and begins dealing them into Eric’s hand. Eric Hey! I’m blindfolded, remember? Out loud, please. Adam One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. (Pause) Eric Are you sure? Adam Yes. Eric Okay. Eric adds one card from the deck to the packet, and puts the deck down. Eric You can’t do the Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card with nine cards. You need... Eric begins counting. Eric One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine... There are no more cards. Eric is confused.


Eric Did I dr op one? Adam No. Eric Well then, what happened? Adam 1don’t know. Eric You don’t know? Adam No. Eric quickly gives up. Eric Okay, well, take a card from the deck and add it to the pile. Adam takes a card from the deck and puts it onto the packet in Eric’s han d. Eric doesn ’t notice. Adam I did it. Eric You did? Okay. Well, the Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card. (pause) Let’s just make sure. Eric count the cards again. Eric One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine... Still ju s t nine.


Eric Excuse me, but were you... lying to me? Adam No. Eric You really added a card? Adam Yes. Eric And I didn’t drop one? Adam No. Eric All right. Let’s add a card, but this time, really add a card. Adam adds another card to Eric’s packet. Again Eric doesn’t feel. Adam It’s done. Eric Okay. (pause) Are you sure? Adam Yes! Eric One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. As Eric counts the cards, one card falls to the table. Eric (Cont.) Will you please stop messing with me?


Adam You dropped a card. Eric I did? Adam Yes. Eric But you told me 1didn’t. Twice. Adam You didn’t before. But you did that time. Eric Okay. Well, do me a favor. Find the card 1 dropped and add it to these. I ric dro ps the p acke t to the table. It falls right on the card he dropped. Adam picks up the packet and counts it into Eric’s hand. Adam One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Eric Did you add the card I dropped? Adam Yes. Eric Did you drop one? Adam No. Eric Okay. Eric gets an idea.


Eric Put my hand on the deck. Eric holds out his right hand and Adam guides it to the deck. Eric picks up three cards and displays them in a fan. Eric How many cards are these? Adam Three. Eric Okay—I won’t ask you if you’re sure, but... you’re sure, right? Adam I’m sure. Eric adds the three to the cards in his hand. Eric A little mental math, if you will. How many cards should I now have? Adam Twelve. Eric Right. So if I take one away I have... Eric removes a card and drops it to the table. Adam Eleven. Eric Right. And if I remove one more... Eric pulls out another card and tosses it. Eric (Cont.) ...I should have ten—just enough for the Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card.

I ric pau ses. Then, as if he ju st can't help it, he co un ts the card s again. Eric (Cont.) One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. 1ric is utterly bewildered. He can’t think of anything to do, so he counts again. Eric (Cont.) One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Eric tosses a card to the table. Eric If I remove one card from these eleven, I should have ten. Exactly what I need for the incredible... you know. He counts again. Eric One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. Eric takes a card from the top of the packet and stuffs it into the middle of the same packet. Eric Maybe if I just hide this extra card in here. Eric holds out the cards. Eric (Cont.) You count them. Adam One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Eric is defeated.


Eric Let’s try something else. Take these... Eric hands Adam the nine cards. Eric (Cont.) ...and put them on the deck. Now, put my hand on the deck. Adam puts the cards on the deck, and guides Eric’s hand to the deck. Eric cuts the deck, then whips off his blindfold. Eric (Cont.) Count ten cards from right there. Adam picks up the deck and begins dealing to the table. Adam One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Eric No bod y move! Is th at... Eric points to the last card counted. Eric The tenth card? Adam Yes. Eric What was the card you selected? Adam The Three of Clubs. Eric lifts up the tenth card to show that it is the Three of Clubs. Eric The Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card! The End


Notes on The Incredible Mystery of the 10th Card livery time a card disappears, blindfolded Eric assumes the missing card must

have fallen on the table, or was not really added by the spectator. This

fantastic conceit causes all the magic that happens in the entire trick to seem i nmpletely normal to the magician. He doesn't experience the magic at all. This is a sophisticated version of the age-old bit that everyone can see the magic except the magician. To make this work, it's important that you maintain a consistent attitude. With each time something goes wrong, Eric becomes a little more frustrated,

not because of the magic, but because he thinks the spectator is not following his directions. But, and this is so crucial Eric sent me an email pointing it out, you must never make the spectators feel that it's their fault. You are the one who is not able to quite express yours elf accurately. That way, when you are kidding them, as though they are messing with you, the audience knows that you are actually frustrated at yourself. Th is approach keeps people from real izing that it's all just a big put on. There are many tricks in which something will happen that requires the magician to break character, and talk right to the audience, and then switch back into “performing mode.'' Eric's script is essentially one long series of breaking character moments, as he struggles to get the ten cards that will al low him to go into performance mode. While you're at it, think about Eric's subtle improvem ent in making this “The Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card,'' as opposed to “The Incredible Ten-Card Trick.” I f you say “Ten-Card Trick,” then when the num ber o f cards is wrong, the spectators quickly pick up that it's all a gag. But when you're trying to do “The Incredible Mystery of the Tenth Card,” it's mu ch less obvious. And as a bonus, the climax makes much more sense.

Method This trick follows the structure of Edward Victor's original routine fairly closely, although Eric's handling is somewhat different. And of course, it adds a climax.

Setup Take any card and put a strong lengthwise crimp it in, bending the sides down (like a 3-Card Monte crimp). So if you cut the deck along the ends (i.e., in Biddle grip) this card will be on bottom o f the top half. Put this card 10th from the bottom (i.e. with 9 cards below it). Put a bandana somewhere han dy— but


before you do, check to make sure that you can roll it up, tie it around your face, and still see down the sides o f your nose. Some bandanas need to be rolled more or less than others. This is something you want to find out before the show.

Performance Ad am selects a card. Th e line about “You’ve already shown you can’t be trusted” is a call back to something that happened in a previous trick. Cut the deck, hold a break between the halves, then spread the deck and have the card returned at the break— 10 cards below the crim p— and table the deck. Notice in the script how Eric handles the return of the card to the deck without saying anything. He spreads the deck, breaks the spread 10 cards below the crimp, and nods toward it while holding this section toward Adam, who’ll know what to do. Moving a line o f dialog into an action line is alm ost always a win. Pick up the deck, false count 9 cards as 10 and put them on the table. Eric’s nifty false count is in The Art of Astonishment. For now, just use any false count you can do with your eyes closed. Tie on the blindfold, and close your eyes. I’m no expert, but I know there are better and worse ways to roll a bandana into a blindfold that looks like it’s blocking your view, while still allowing an easy view. And it varies with each bandana. I also know that rolling a bandana into a blind fold is one thing that you need to practice with a video camera. A mirror will not give you adequate feedback (or any, really). You must also rehearse keeping your eyes closed except when you specifi cally need to see something (i.e., when you are putting the packet right down on one o f the cards). Th is is Acting 101 advice, but it is still a custom more honored in the breach than the observance. Have Adam pick up the dealt cards and count them into your hand. There are nine. Get a left pinky break under the top three cards. Find the deck on the table (with your eyes closed), and pick it up in Biddle grip. Draw one m ore card onto the nine, at the same time stealing the three cards above your break back und er the deck (leaving you with seven in your hand). Put the deck down. Count the cards a gain— quickly, just to double-check. False count twice, so you end on nine. Let the nine hang— this is one o f Eric’ s underappreciated contributions to the effect, changing it to ten cards, so each count ends on nine, which feels more incomplete. Ask Adam what h appened. He will not know. Now you have him add a card from the deck to the packet (making eight), a nd — very important— do not re

spond when he puts the card in your hand. Wait until he says that he’s done. Count the cards again, false counting once, so the count ends on nine. More interaction, then Adam adds one more card to the packet (making nine). Now you count the cards, fairly, as nine. But you drop one to the table with out realizing it. This is the kind of thing that seems like it's not really a move, so you might think you don't have to practice it. You do. Accidentally dropping a card while counting them is a sleight that must be mastered to create the proper illusion. You must drop a card after you count it (i.e., drop it from the receiving hand). Otherwise you'll only count eight cards. Now do the bit where you add three cards and take away two (which gives you ten). This is hilarious i f you play it straight, as though you are too bu sy thinking o f what's going wrong to notice how convoluted your logic is. Count the (ten) cards, false counting once so you end up on eleven. Toss a card to the table (leaving nine). Count again, false counting twice so you end up on eleven again. Take a card from the top and stick it into the middle of the packet. This o f course m akes no sense, but i f you play it that you don't have time to think about it, as a desperate attempt to try anything d ifferent to break the spell, it's hilarious. Give the cards to Adam and have him count them back into your hand; there will be, surprisingly, nine. Have Adam put the nine cards back on the deck (open your eyes to see where they go, so you know about where the crimp is), then cut to the crim p. The selected card is now tenth from the top.

Taste The moment where you ask Adam to pick up the card you dropped, and then you drop your cards right onto it, gets a huge laugh. But it must be played very delicately. First o f all, you have to pretend that you don't know why they're laughing, but you can't make too big a deal about it or it will be obvious that you're pretending. And then, because this mom ent gets a hu ge laugh, you'll be tempted to revise the script to do it again, which is just another sure way to give the whole thing away. This is an incredibly common problem in scripting. When you're writing for a TV show, for example, and some ga g— or character, bit, prop, whatev er — gets a good reaction, the first impu lse is to put in more o f that. (For an example, watch any three consecutive episodes of Saturday Night Live.) This fails more often than it succeeds. As David Regal said, usually the reason something gets such a good reaction the first time is because you have just the right amount o f it.

SCRIPTING MAGIC

Adaptation Th ink o f your favorite tricks. What would it mean to perform each o f them blindfolded? Right o ff the bat I think o f Triumph — if you were blindfolded, you migh t easily sh uffle one h alf face up into the other face down, without re alizing it. What other handicaps could you give yourself? You could do a trick behind your back — or maybe with one hand tied behind your back. Or cross your arm s, so the right hand has to do the left's work, and vice versa. Maybe you have to hold a prop from the trick in your mouth, so you can't speak. But you can grunt, and gesture wildly. Until both hand s are full, then you have to gesture with your head. Then balance something on your head, so you can only gesture with your eyes. I f you're at all funny, this could be hilarious. The next time you're hanging out with your magic buddies, try this. Take turns, pick any trick that you can do comfortably but which everyone knows, and do it with som e physical impediment. You can be without any o f your five senses. You might have a non-functioning limb or four. Maybe your head is so heavy you can't lift it, and have to leave it leaning on the table. Or maybe you're wearin g hand cuffs. Maybe you're sitting on the floor, reaching up with your hands over your head onto the surface o f the table on which you are per form ing, wh ich you can't see. Go around the room, take turns, pick a different challenge, and ju st see w hat happens. You're not trying to fool anybody; this is why you pick a trick that everybody knows, to elim inate that stress. You're just trying to see the trick from another angle. People sometimes ask, how do you come up with ideas? This is ho w — for me, anyway. By looking at everything from as many different angles as pos sible.

References Edward Victor's “Eleven Card Trick'' is in The Classic Magic of Edward Vic tor. “The Fabulous Derek Dingle Jumping Card Trick'' is in The Complete Works o f Derek Dingle by Richard Kaufman, 1982, Kaufman and Greenberg, David Williamson's “The Famous Three Card Trick'' is from Williamson's Wonders, by Richard Kaufman, 1989, Kaufman and Greenberg. Eric Mead's “Th e Incredible Mystery o f the 10th Card'' appeared in The Art o f Astonishment: Book 2 by Paul Harris, 1996, A-i Multimedia. Bill Malone's “Sorry for the Delay” (a Joe Riding Effect) is on Volume 2 of the Here I Go Again DVD series, 2007, L&L Publishing. “A custom more honored in the breach than the observance” is from Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

I Must Be Cheating by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete sits with Ricky, Chris, and Lee, shuffling a deck of cards. Pete Harry Houdini said, “I never play poker. If I win, I must be cheating. If I lose, I must be a bad magicia n.” Pete picks up the deck. Pete One time I was playing poker with my friends. Five card draw. He counts five cards off the top, and puts the rest of the deck aside. Pete I don’t want them to think I’m cheating. Of course I don’t want them to think I’m a bad magician, ei ther. Pete squeezes out his cards to see what he has. Pete First hand, I get the only thing worse than five bad cards. (pause) Six bad cards. Pete shows his hand: six assorted low-valued cards. Pete I’ll get rid of it using a hand mucking ditch that a card mechanic showed Dai Vernon. Pete “sec retl y” palms a card off the pa ck et— everyo ne sees it—then leans on the table. He looks at Lee with all the fake sincerity he can muster.


Pete

Hi. Pete casually slides his palmed card under Lee’s hand. Pete Enjoying the show? Lee Yes. Pete smiles, then leaves the card in front of Lee as he straightens up. Pete Looks like I got away with it. Good thing—1don’t want anyone to think I’m cheating. Pete lifts up his hand and squeezes it out again. And frowns. Still six cards. Pete One, two, three, four, five, six. Pete palms another card and leans on the table, as he looks at Ricky. Pete Hi. Pete even more casu ally slides the ca rd u nd er Lee’s hand, and looks at Ricky back to his right, almost falling over. Pete Enjoying the show? Ricky Yes. Pete smiles, leaves the card, and turns his attention back to his hand, which he squeezes out again, then immediately turns it around: six cards. Pete awkwardly palms another card.

Pete

Lee, do you think I could secretly ditch this card, under your hand, without you knowing it? Lee No. Pete It’s done—look! Pete turns over his hand; the card is gone. Pete Look unde r your hand. Lee looks, but there’s nothing there. Pete I’m just kidding. I still have it. Pete turns over his hand; the card is back. He slides it under Lee’s hand, then hands Lee the rest of his cards. Pete Listen, you count the cards into my hand. Lee One, two, three, four, five. Pete And... how many do you have? Lee Three. Pete Three? Well, that doesn’t matter—what matters is, five cards right here. Let’s... let’s just check. Pete counts the cards. Pete One, two, three, four, five, six.


He puts his sixth card with the other three.

Pete It’s a good thing we checked. I don’t want anyone to think I’m cheating. Pete counts the cards again. Pete One, two, three, four, five, six. You can see how people might think that. Pete puts the last card down with the other four and counts his cards again. Pete One, two, three, four, five, six. Pete pu ts the sixth car d on Lee’s pile. Pete How many do you have? Lee Six. Pete Six? People are gonna think you’re cheating. Pete counts his cards again. Pete One, two, three, four, five, six. He puts the extra card on Lee’s cards. Pete Here’s what you do. Just tell ’em you thought the game was seven card stud. Pete counts his cards again. Pete One, two, three, four, five, six.


Pete takes a card from his hand and just openly tosses it onto Lee's pile. Pete Tell ’em... Just tell ’em you’re cheating. Th at ’s what th ey ’re gonn a th ink anyway. Th at’s what the y th ou gh t abo ut me. Even though I only have five cards... Pete spreads his cards. Just five. Pete They still think, I must be cheating. He shows his hand: a royal flush in Spades. Pete At least they don’t think I’m a bad magician.

The End


Notes on I Must Be Cheating The first thing I did was ask m yse lf— why would 1 care how many cards I have? Within 30 minutes I had worked out the basic script, with a meaning ful premise, a logical and yet surprising (and magical) climax, and a very fun method which follows the presentation perfectly. In this script, the num ber of cards you have means something. It means everything. The method and han dling is not the usual for this trick, so the explanation is long. But it’s not difficult to learn and the end result looks completely move less and extremely magical. Most importantly, the method won't interfere with the presentation, either in your mind or the audience's. This just m ight be the best feature a method can have.

Method This routine really only uses two moves: 1) counting a group o f cards as ap parently fewer than there really are, and 2) adding a group of cards to a packet in play. You can use almost any version o f these m oves that you already do. My handling uses three different versions of the first move, and adds the cards via a do-it-yourself card dropper I came up with about seven years ago. The card dropper is a lot of fun, extremely deceptive, dead easy, and very practical for casual situations. Professionals will probably have to adapt, as the angles are somewhat limited and it's harder to do when you’re wearing a sportcoat. What makes my ha nd ling worth trying is that it looks completely casual. There don’t seem to be any moves at all; the trick just seems to happen. Partly this is because o f the moves I use to count the cards while concealing some, which are different from the way most mag icians handle this task. This meth od is extremely natural, easy to acquire, reliable in p erformance, and dead easy to remember. Methods such as this are not three-a-penny.

P.M. Holdout Put a medium-strength magnet in your left back pocket. The one you bought to vanish a coin is perfect, and it’s covered in felt, which is a bonus. Now take a bottle cap— a metal cap from a glass bottle— and finger palm it in your left hand. Notice that bottle caps are the easiest thing you’ve ever palmed. Take a playing card and hold it in your left hand. Turn slightly to your left, and let your hand fall naturally to the side. The magnet grabs the bottle cap, holding the card quite securely. If not, adjust the position of the magnet inside your pants leg. Now take the deck in your left hand, and repeat the movem ent. This

time, yo ur left finger s grip the card and slide it out from under the bottle cap. I’he card goes on top of the deck, and the bottle cap stays stuck to the back of your leg. Th is is a lot o f fun.

Try this, load the Aces into the dropper and walk up to a fellow magician or your wife. Have the deck shuffled. Take it back, add the Aces to the top, then produce them any way you like.

Setup Setup by taking a royal flush in Spades and put it in your left front pocket, facing away from your leg. Put the bottlecap in the pocket, so the cards are between the cap and your leg, then put the rest of the deck in your right front pocket. Ill describe it with loading the flush on the fly, so you can do it any time in your act, but if you are perform ing where you can control your angles, you can just come out with the cards already loaded and leave them there. With a m edium-strength magnet, the cards will be quite secure.

Performance When you’re ready to do this trick, reach into your left front pocket for the deck. You don’t find it, but you do finger palm the cap and gambler’s cop the royal flush. This happens quickly, because the cap and cards are palmed in the loosest sense o f the word on ly— just keep your hand and shoulder relaxed (the shoulder is key), and lightly press the cards against the leg, which keeps both hand and cards in a safe position. Now two things happen at once: the right hand goes into the right pocket, and the left hand comes out and feels the back of the left back pocket. The right hand pulls out the deck, while the left hand leaves the cards in the holdout. Remember, the trick has not started yet; you’re just looking for the cards. If possible, do all this while someone else is talking. There is no better mis direction than to have someone else talking. As long as you even appear to be doing something plau sible— and in this trick what you’re doing is quite natural— nothing you do will be noticed.

Double Count Now the trick starts. Hold the deck in dealing position in your left hand and count of f five cards into your right. Actually, do it no w — stop reading, pick up a deck, and count off five cards. Now that you know what that looks like, do the exact same thing, only push off two cards as one on the second, third, and fourth cards. You’ll end up hold ing eight cards instead of five. This is not hard to learn, and you don’t have to

SCRIPTING MAG!C j 33S

do it fast at all. Most importantly, the double cards don't have to line up, since no one will ever get to look at one of the doubles by itself. Table the deck. You will not touch it again.

Spread Conceal Now you're going to display the eight cards as six. Hold the cards facing you, and spread over the first five (showing six indices) as if you were playing poker. At the left of the spread are three cards loosely held as one, which are hidden from audience view by your left fingers, in case they separate. R em em  ber, you're imitating a poker player, so it's completely natural to partially con ceal your cards. Now let go with the right hand, which turns palm away from you, and takes the spread as a single unit, with yo ur fingers on the faces o f the cards and your thumb on the back. Turn the spread to face the audience (i.e. palm toward you); as this happens your right thumb slides down just a little, pulling the two extra cards away from the edge of the last visible card. Let the audience count six cards, holding the cards very casually; all visible edges are single, and the cards can even slide around a bit without any danger. The extra edges are at the bottom and are all covered by the fingers of the right hand. Nobody's looking at the bottom anyway; the indexes are at the top. This is a supremely natural-looking way to display eight, seven, and six cards as six. You might think, why do I need a natural-looking way to display six cards as six? You don't— what you need is a natural-looking way to display six cards as six that you can also use to display eight and seven cards as six. It's fantastically easy, and you won't believe how disa rming it is. When mo st magi cians do something like this, they hold the cards with either too m uch force or too much precision. This is light, easy, casual. Try it in the mirror and you'll be amazed how easily you can make it look so natural and so convincing. The key element is that this is pretty much exactly how a poker player would look at a hand and then show it to the people opposite him. Also remember that you're doing this move while delivering the line about having the only thing worse than five bad cards, which occupies the audience's attention. The line begins when you look up from yo ur cards, so the audience is looking at you, then you do the turn, then you look at the cards, so the audience does too. Place the spread of six cards directly into left hand dealing position, and square it up. With the left thumb, lever the top card up and openly pa lm it of f the packet with the right hand, then slide it over in front o f Lee. The audience must see the palm, so play it up. You repeat this palm/ditch sequence twice more, but on the last time you do the Arthur Findley tent vanish. In other words, you lever the card up o ff the packet, but when you come over to palm


the* card you let it fall back onto the packet, and come away pretending you have the card. So, make sure the first two palms look like your tent vanish. I n the surprise o f the card’s vanish, the audience fo r a second really believes the third card is in Lee's pi le— the perfect misdirection for you to palm the i ard right back o ff the top o f the six cards in your hand. Just act as though the (ard was there all along, but you hid it. This is maybe even more fun than playing with the holdout.

The Drop After you ditch the third card in Lee’s pile, you have only five cards in your hand. As k Lee to count them — this is only natural after all the confusion. Then look at and comment on the three ditched cards, and as attention goes there, your left hand falls to your side and steals the royal flush on top of the 5-card packet in your hand. This is extremely easy and althou gh the presenta tion isn ’t even ha lf over, you are almost home.

Block Pushoff False Count Now, since you’re just double-checking your total— quite natural after all the con fus ion — you don’t bother spreading the cards, you just count them. Hold the cards in left-hand dealing position. Take cards from the top one at a time into the right hand, each card going under the others. When you get to the fifth card, the left thumb pushes o ff all the cards above the bottom card. As you take this block under the right hand cards the right fingers pull the bot tom card to the right, which leaves a single edge exposed. Of course, no one is looking at that card — the magic is the sixth card. That’s what the audience, and you, will be looking at. You’ll repeat this move four times in a row, and then show the royal flush to finish. The key to it all, not surprisingly, is to do the thumb pushoff from the outer left corner on the first four cards exactly the same as you push off the block on the fifth. Each count obviously should look the same, although you can get faster and faster as you go.

Cleanup/Reset When gathering up the deck, keep the royal flush on the bottom, then cop it of f and put it back in your left front pocket when no one is paying attention. Scratch your leg and retrieve the cap, then ditch it in your pocket.

Adaptation One thing I did was tie some o f the lines to the num ber o f cards— for ex ample, “Tell them you thought it was seven-card stud.” I find this makes them easier to remember, and it helps remind the audience how many cards have


been produced. If you adapt this script, you might try something like that. By the way the royal flush you steal from the holdout doesn’t have to come from the same deck in your right pocket. With the royal flush in the holdout, you can do this trick anytime, anywhere, with any matching deck. If you are at a convention and see another magician whose deck matches your royal flush, load your holdout and borrow his deck.

Holding Out The P.M. Holdout makes this handling exceptionally natural, and it can be used to increase the im possibility o f man y a trick. I do a version o f Collectors in which I hand out the four Queens, then have three cards selected and cull them under the spread, while I’m fin ger palming the bottle cap (if you can cull three cards, you can do it with a bottle cap). Now, as I hand the deck to Ricky, I gambler’s cop the selections and stick them to the holdout, so I can take the Queens from Lee with two completely empty hands, then add the selections back onto the Queens. It’s hard to imagine a cleaner, more im possible version o f this trick — the deck and the Queens never come anywhere near each other, and your hands are very clearly empty at the right mom ents. It’s not easy, but it’s not that hard, and it gets an incredible effect from the moves required. A similar handling works great with a Mullica Wallet. By the way if you give this holdout a try, spend $5 and buy a can of black Plasti-Dip spray paint, which will make the bottle cap invisible on your black pants, m uffle the slight click when it attaches to the magnet, and m ake it more comfortable to palm.

References Arthur Findley created the tent vanish in the 19 30 s; it was first pu blished in Dai Vernon’s “Mobilizing the Aces” in the March 1941 Sphinx. About three years after I cam e up with this presentation, I found a trick called “Poker Players Surprise” by Steve Aldrich in the September 1988 issue o f Genii magazine. This is a poker hook applied to the Six-Card Repeat, which is very similar to the Eleven-Card Trick. The basic story is somewhat the op posite of “I Must Be Cheating”; a gambler has a poker hand and removes two cards, then shows he still has five cards. The methods are completely different, and the presentations are very different— Steve uses rhyming pa tter— but the poker theme is the s ame, and it has a royal flush climax. I also discovered that the poker setting was u sed by Richard Osterlind in his version o f the Six-Card Repeat, called “Out o f H an d.” Richard’ s trick features magicians playing poker, worried that other players will think they’re cheat-

SCRIPT1NG MAGIC | 338

mg. His trick also has a royal Hush climax, and amazingly, his presentation

also starts with the same Houdini quote. Despite all this, they are very differ ent tricks and scripts. If you can track down the video Richard Osterlind’s Chal

lenge Magic, check out “Out of Hand.” My hat is off to Steve Aldrich and Richard Osterlind.

UnDo Influence

I f you’ve been reading this book straight through, you’ve seen the stereo typical magic script described as “The Jokers are the detectives.” This presen tation has been mentioned several times, primarily to ridicule it as a cliched, hokey, virtually audience-in sulting presentation. And so, when I asked David Regal to contribute to this book, he sent in this script in which the Jokers are detectives. David knows two things: scripting and magic. He’s written for more than one hit TV show, and been a magi cian for at least several weeks now. He has released dozens o f excellent tricks, videos, and books show casing his outstanding magic, all o f wh ich , no sur prise, include terrific presentations. So maybe I won’t make so much fun of "The Jokers are the detectives.” But I can still make fun o f David— he’ s much shorter than I am. David writes: Simon A ronson has long been hailed as a bright shining light in magic, but this particular effect, which is described with a multitude of variations in Simon’s excellent 2001 book Try the Impossible, is perhaps Simon’s best. It is brilliant and I just love it. When I bring a gu est — usually a friend o f min e and his girlfriend— to The Magic Castle, I will bring them downstairs where I’ll perform a private show at an out o f the way table. I ’ll always use a Magic Castle deck o f cards, close with this routine, then give the deck to the girlfriend as a gift. The trick is so powerful I feel like a pimp. To say the book that contains this effect is a good value is an understate ment. In my presentation, I’ve tried to add audience involvement, point up the impossibilities in an organic manner, and position the final climax in such a way as to squeeze maximum magical impact from the incredible situation Simon has concocted. David’s script distills the process, making it easy to follow and seemingly innocent, and also distills the effect, m aking it crystal clear and clearly impo s sible. All that, and the Jokers are the detectives! So, even with all the talk in this book about how scripting doesn’t have to be about creating stories for your tricks, David’s script shows that even i f you do create stories, you can still fool the living hell out of people.


Watching The Detectives by David Regal Int—Magic Castle—Night David sits at an out-of-the-way table across from Adam and Eve. Dave brings out a deck of cards and removes the Jokers, which he puts aside face up. David We’ll be using the Jokers for this, in a very special way, but first it’s important that you mix up all the cards. David hands the deck to Eve, who begins shuffling. David The Jokers are the police officers of the deck. Did you know that? Well, it’s true. They hang out in different parts of the pack, keepin g tabs on where all th e cards are, and if there’s ever a need to locate any troublemakers they’ll look up... down... all around, and find the guilty partie s. You think I’m kidding, don’t you? I guess I’ll have to prove it to you. David takes the deck back. David These have been shuffled and examined by you, right? It’s important, because I’m going to put the Jokers in two different parts of the deck, but do it without changing the position of a single card. Watch me—keep me honest! David spreads the cards face down, between his hands, and sticks in the two face-up Jokers. David We’ll put the first Joker... hmm... how about here? We’ll put the second one further down. Like I said, the Jokers have


to be in different parts of the deck, so they can look up, down, and all around. David slowly squares the deck and tables it. David Now it d o esn ’t matter that you mixed up the cards, because I have my officers policing the deck, and nobody can get away with an yth ing . To pro ve this I need a couple of criminals. You know, people with no morals or ethics. You two should do fine. Of course you won’t actually be th e crimin als, you’ll pick cards to represent the criminals. I don’t even want to touch the deck. Could you, Eve, cut off a bunch of cards and put them in front of you? Not too many, because I want Adam to take a turn, too, so anything less than half. Okay now you Adam, cut off a pile of cards and put them in front of you. 1want to remind you that you shuffled the deck and you cut the cards, so there’s no way I can control anything that happens. (to Eve) Lift up your cards and peek at the one at the bottom, the one you cut to. Got it? Remember it and put your cards back here. Eve returns her cards to the deck. David (to Adam) You do the same thing. Peek at the card you cut to, and put your cards back on the deck. Now those two cards, the ones you’re remembering, they’re our criminals. David squares the cards on the table. David Now I’ve done noth in g, but I d o n’t have to do anything, because I’ve got my police


officers in that deck, the Jokers. Right now they’re looking up...

David pauses, giving the Jokers time to do just that. David ...down... Another pause. David ...all ar ound. .. A final pause. David ...and now they know exactly where to find the perpetrators. They just have to report back to me. David spreads through the deck and tables the Jokers face up. He holds one Joker up to his ear and talks to him. David (to the Joker) Yeah, I’m here with Adam and Eve... I know, they are hot. But what about the criminal, the card she looked at? Oh, really? (to Eve) He said your card is eighteenth down from the top. Now I don’t want to touch the cards. Could you pick them up and deal down to the eighteenth card? David tables the Joker near Eve and guides her as she deals down to the card at the eighteenth position. David Leave it face down for the time being. David places the Joker slightly overlapping onto the eighteenth card, then picks up the extra Joker and talks to it.


David (to the Joker) Okay, now his card—criminal number two. Oh, really? (to Adam) Apparently your card was forty-third down in the deck. Wow. Well it’s not so bad, you already deal t eig hte en, so start with nineteen... Adam begins to deal, and David counts along with him. David ...twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twentythree, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two, thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirtyseven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two, and deal number forty-three right here. Adam deals the forty-third card aside. David places the extra Joker overlapping it, then puts the rest of the deck aside. David Now let’s re cap . You examined th e deck, shuffled the deck, then cut the deck without me ever touching it... but those two Jokers seemed to be pretty sure they knew where you r ca rds we re. Let’s build a little suspense... David takes the deck and ribbon spreads it face up on the table, in a wide, dynamic arc. David Do either of you see your c ards anywhere in the deck? No? (faster) Eve, the Joker said your card was eighteen down from the top of the deck. What was your card?

Eve The Two of Hearts.

David u se s the Joker to flip Eve’s selectio n face up. It’s the Two of Hearts! David He got it! David picks up the extr a Jok er and hold s it nea r Adam’s selection. David Adam, the other Joker said your card was forty-third down from the top. What was your card? Adam The Six of Clubs. David use s th e extra Jok er to flip Adam’s sele ction face up. It’s the Six of Clubs. David Yes—the guilty parties have been apprehended! But wait! The audience starts to react, but David stops them. David I haven’t told you the most incredible part! You see, I was hold ing back. I to ld you the Jokers were police officers, and that’s true, but I didn’t tell you in what capacity they served. You see, they’re police psych ic s. They know what’s going to happen before it happens. Before you shuffled the deck, they knew exactly how you’d shuffle, where every card would land. Before you cut the cards, they intuitively knew the precise spot you’d cut. Before we even started they knew that your card would end up at position eighteen and your card would end up at position fo rty-three...


As he says the numbers, David dramatically turns over the Jok ers to reveal th e “18” and “43 ” on th eir backs. He to ss es each card onto the criminal it’s found. David ...th at’s the part 1jus t d o n’t und erstan d!

The End


Notes on Watching the Detectives If you don't know how this trick works, and you've just read the script, it seems impossible that this could be a mathematical trick. There just isn't any

math anyw here in the procedure. That's w hat makes this the best mathematical card trick I've ever seen; the math has been perfectly concealed in the pre sentation.

Method You need a full 52-card deck, plus two Jokers. Write the num ber 18 in thick black Sharpie on the back of the regular Joker, and write 43 on the back of the extra Joker. That way you can always tell them apart.

Performance Introduce the deck, if it isn't already in play, and bring out the Jokers. Put the Jokers aside face u p — do not let the spectators see the num bers on the backs o f the Jokers. After Eve has shuffled the deck, take it back and insert the Jokers, face up. You want to look like you're just putting them in general loc ations— one near the top, one near the bottom — but in fact they have to go in the exact right spots. The easiest way to achieve both these goals is to pus h o ff the cards in groups of three. After three groups of three have been pushed in to the right hand, the left picks up the Joker on top of the left-hand's cards, without flash ing the rear o f the Joker, so the Joker is tenth from the top. P ush over the Joker, then six m ore groups o f three, and add the other Joker. To recap: Push off nine cards, put in a Joker, then push off eighteen more cards and put in the other Joker. It's easy to push the cards in a way that makes it look very haphazard, but pushes three cards each time. A great trick here is to synchronize your push ing with your script, and then do it exactly the same way every time. In other words, every tim e you do it, each push comes as you're saying the sam e word. That way you don't have to count, you just say your lines. Or you could do what Rafael Bena tar does and spend your youth learning to count while you are talk ing. Rafael's way is better, but mine is easier. Now Eve and Adam cut the deck and look at their cards. Eve has to cut be tween the two Jokers, which are 10th and 28th from the top, and Adam has to cut below the bottom Joker. Dave's simple instructions make this happen every time. Unless the spectators are deliberately trying to screw you up, this will happen automatically anyway.

Eve puts her packet back on the deck, then Adam does the same. This makes sense; Eve cut first, and she puts back first. But this process cuts the top part of the deck. You are now going to go through and remove the Jokers; in the process you will unnoticably rearrange the pack as you remove the Jokers. Be lieve it or not, this will position the selected cards at the 18th and 43rd spots in the deck. You don't believe it? I don't believe it either. Fortunately, like a good chain letter, this trick works whether you believe in it or not.

Face Up UnDo Hold the deck face up in your left hand. Spread through the pack until you reach the first (face down) Joker, then separate the pack with the Joker at the face of the left hand section. Turn the left hand palm down and put the Joker face up on the table, making sure you don't flash the numbers on the back of the Joker. Bring the hands together and resume spreading, but this time the left hand feeds its cards above the group of cards in the right hand. Spread until you reach the second Joker, then separate the hands to put this Joker face up on the table, again without flashing its back. Bring the hands together and put all the cards from the left hand under those in the right hand. Regardless of where Adam and Eve cut, their selected cards are now 18th and 43rd in the deck. How does this work? Because Simon Aronson is a ge nius, that's how. All that remains is to reveal first that you know where the selected cards are, which is quite incredible, and then to show that you knew, before the trick even started, that they would be there, which is completely impossible.

Variations Simon likes to begin with the Jokers already in the deck, so that they appear when the deck is spread. To do that you need to do a Face Down Un Do, to keep from flashing the numbers on the backs of the Jokers. It's in Simon's book, along with nearly a hundred pages of applications for the “UnDo Influence'' principle, which has many variations. Not to mention dozens of other great trick s— i f you like this trick, you'll love this book. Here's an optional bit you can throw in. While you're doing the Face Up UnDo, after you remove the first Joker, start counting cards. The tenth card of the next block is Adam's selection. Remember it, and you can stun Adam by nam ing his card before you turn it over.

Adaptation When I learned this trick, the first thing I changed was the numbe rs. In stead o f writing them in bold Sharpie on the backs o f the jokers, I wrote them

hi

pencil on the front, and then erased them. Pencil doesn't erase fully, but no

one ever noticed the numbers until I pointed it out. 1 played it as though the

tv u k wen* over aftei I had found the cards at 18 and 43, and then I pretended t<>notice the numbers. The effect was very eerie, which was heightened by the fat t that the numbers, having been erased, aren't really completely there. My next experiment was to replace the Jokers with business cards. This works great, especially with the erased numbers bit. Take two o f your business 1 ards, write 18 on one and 43 on the other, and put them in your wallet. You are now ready to do this trick anytime, anywhere, with any full deck (no Jokers required). I also tried having the numbers 18 and 43 printed on the business 1 ards, as apparently part of the design (I make my own on my computer), but when I tried that it seemed distinctly less eerie. Still there's always great value in using business cards. In revisiting this effect for this book, I had the idea to make two playingcard-sized detective ID cards. Each card has a photo and a badge number. The photos are both o f me, in different funny -looking detective disguises. The badge numbers, needless to say, are 18 and 43. This is not that hard to do, with computer technology. The only hard part is the disguises, but a trip to any party store should yield hilarious-looking (on me) disguises. I'm thinking one will be me in a bald-head w ig with a mustache, and the other will be me as a woman.

References “UnDo Influence” is the name of the mathematical principle that makes this trick and its many variations work. This particular application is called “Prior Commitment;” it is in Try the Impossible by Simon Aronson, 200 1, along with other variations and a complete explanation o f how this all works. You can use this principle to bring two freely selected cards to almost any positions in the deck.

The Thumbtip Silk Vanish ^

------------------------------ 1

T

wo parents sit with their kids at a family restaurant. Th ey are try ing desperately to enjoy a nice dinner, which means keeping their rambunctious kids in line. You, a complete stranger, approach. Thirty seconds later, the kids are totally absorbed, while their par

ents relax, and while they’re at it, they ask each other how the hell you did that. The m anager o f the restaurant walks by and sees you making customers very happy, and smiles. It’s nice work i f you can get it. Eric Henning, an extremely smart and experienced professional magician who works in Maryland, has graciou sly agreed to let me docum ent this presen  tation, which is what he uses to keep restaurant managers and custom ers very happy at high-end family restaurants. Why he agreed to let me do this I don't know. This routine is gold to any pro who works in a family environment. It's also, by the way, a fantastic trick for the amateur magician who performs for his own family, as I can personally verify. The thumbtip silk vanish is one o f the most exposed tricks in all o f magic, but when Eric does it both children and adults are totally engaged and thor oughly baffled. This script is a wonderful demonstration o f what happens when smart magicians don't stop thinking too soon. The first thing Eric did was throw out the 6-inch-square silk that comes with the thumbtip, and replace it with a 36-inch streamer. The 36-by-i-inch streamer has the same amount of silk as the 6-inch square, and fits in the same thumbtip. But it looks much bigger. When I studied psychology in school I learned that our estimation of an object's size is most strongly af fected by its longest dimension; a 36-inch streamer seems six times bigger than a 6-inch-square silk. The second touch is restoring the elegant, baffling old silk production, which is much better than the newer one everyone's doing nowadays. Third, he picked up a fantastic Michel Vernet (yes, that Vernet) idea that turns the vanish o f the silk into a close-up grand illusion, one which involves every child at the table (and the adults too), and also makes the vanish a true mystery. I f you take only one thing from this routine, take this bit. The last element is using the crayons which are given to the kids at fine fam ily restaurants. So the trick is performed by the kids, using things they al ready have. But you can brin g your own crayons, or do the trick without them, i f none are present.

The End of the Rainbow by Eric Henning Int Restaurant— Eve —

1ric approaches a table where Lee, Chris, Alex, and Ricky sit waiting for dinner. Eric Hi, I’m Eric Henning, the house magician. Kind of like the house salad, but more tossed! Let’s play a game with colors. Can you help me make a rainbow? Let’s gather up the crayons so each of you has a different color. Each kid (and often, the parents) grabs a different color crayon. Eric Great! Now, please hold them like a magic wand... Eric holds up his hand as if he were holding a magic wand; the kids follow along. Eric ...and point them here at my hand. Eric indicates his left hand as the kids wave their “magic w an ds ” over his cl osed fist. Eric Now, with your other hand, wiggle your fingers! Keep wiggling... Keep wiggling... (pause) I’m the only adult who will ever tell you to keep wiggling in your entire life! All the kids laugh. Eric Now... look! Eric brings his hands together and gently rubs his fingers and


thumbs. As he does a long silk streamer spills over his empty hands. Eric holds his hands out wide, stretching the streamer taut. Eric Give yourselves a hand! Applause. Eric Now, let’s make it dis ap pear! Eric gathers up the streamer and tucks it into his left fist. Eric You can help. Just put down the crayons... They do. Eric ...and put your hands on mine, flat, like this... Eric holds his left hand out so the children can place their hands on all sides of his. Eric ...one on top and one on the bottom. Go ahead, everyone can help! Lee, put your hand here. Lee puts a hand on the left side of Eric’s fist. Eric Chris, put your hand under here. Chris puts a hand underneath Eric’s fist. Eric Alex, your hand goes on top. Alex puts a hand on top.

Eric

And Ricky, put your hand here. Ricky pu ts a hand on the right s ide of Eric’s fist, cover ing it completely. I ric picks up his wand an d wav es it over the h and -co ver ed fist. Eric Now, what’s your favorite magic wor d? The kids all call out their magic word. Eric Mine is “Please!” Can you say p lease? One, two, three—please! Eric opens his fist. Despite being surrounded on all sides, the stream er has vanished!

The End


Notes on Over the Rainbow I f you read this script for the dialog, you’ll m iss the point. What makes it so effective is the use of the crayons and the Birdcage-style vanish. You can think o f this as the “ story” part o f the script, which is more important than the dialog that communicates it. Movies and TV shows have separate credits for “story by” and “screenplay by,” and writers get paid for contributing both.

Method Even if you already know how to produce a silk from and vanish a silk into a thumbtip, you should still give this a try. This handling is much more beauti ful than the “standard” hand ling one sees nowadays, engages the spectators in a uniquely direct way, and will fool spectators who know how to vanish a silk in a thumbtip. By the way, my guess is that people will read about the idea of using a streamer, and nod, and then will try the handling with a comm on 6 -inch silk. Get a stream er— I bought m ine from Jay Scott Berry for about five bucks. It makes a huge difference.

Setup Fold the streamer in h alf and load it— ends first — into a thumbtip. Put the thumbtip on your right thum b, and when you do, make sure the last little bit of the middle goes between your thumbnail and the tip, so that when you remove the thumb, the nail will scrape the stream er out of the tip. This makes the production look more m agical. Introduce yourself and have the kids gather the crayons, in the process showing your hands empty. When the kids wave the crayons and wiggle their fingers, bring your hands together, as though you were praying, then curl them into fists. The thum b tip automatically comes off your right thum b into your left fist, and— if you loaded the thum btip correctly— the middle o f the streamer will peek out o f the tip and into view. Rub your thumbs and fingers together, slowly working the streamer out of the tip. It should spill over the sides o f the index fingers, toward the spectators. With just a little practice, this creates a beautiful illusion that the silk is appearing from between your fingers and thumbs. Keep working it— don’t rush! — until the entire streamer is produced. Leave the thumbtip in the left fist. The appearance of the streamer is hypnotic and magical, unless you rush. So, don’t rush.

Bird Cage Vanish Now you are going to do the Blackstone Birdcage vanish, with your left fist

as the cage. Begin stuffing the streamer into the fist, and into the thumb tip. When it’s all in, do not do the standard steal in which you tuck the streamer in with your thumb. Instead, invite the kids to place their hands around your left hand, to make sure the stream er can’t escape. Have one kid put their hand on the left side of your fist, then another on the bottom. As you do this you demonstrate by putting your right hand on the left side of your fist, then the bottom. Now you put your right hand on top of the left fist, to demonstrate what you want the third child to do, and the right thumb goes into the opening of the left fist and steals away the thumbtip.

Adaptation Eric ditches the thumbtip later, after a bit with his wand. But it’s just as easy to ditch while you’re reaching into your pocket for your wand. You can substitute something other than “please” for the magic word, de pending on the kids and/or situation. Eric performs at family restaurants, where “please” gets the best reaction. At a corporate function he might use the name o f the company or their slogan.

References You can get your own rainbow streamer at www.jayscottberry.com.

Wild Card

T

his trick most magicians know as “Wild Card” was actually in vented by Peter Kane, who called it “Watch the Ace” in Hugard' Magic Monthly. Frank Garcia took the routine, changed the han dling a bit, named it “Wild Card”, and released it as a standalone

manuscript, with no reference to Kane. Since then, countless magicians have referred to it as Frank Garcia’ s “Wild Card.” This is a shame, bec aus e— aside from perpetuating this unethical behavior— Frank Garcia made a change that significantly reduced the effectiveness o f Peter Kane’s original. In the original routine, Peter Kane would show a group of cards that were all different, each of these cards changed into an Ace. This is much better than Garcia’s version, in which you start with eight cards all the same. The group of different cards seem s very natural, which m agnifies the shock caused by the change(s). When you bring out nine cards all the same, the audience already know s something is up. They may not assume the cards are gimmicked, but they know it’s not just an ordinary deck o f cards. Several magicians have come up with presentational strategies to make this group o f identical cards seem natural. Tom my Wonder’s excellent approach is to make the group a series of cards all selected by different spectators in dif ferent performances. Th is turns the fact that they are all the sam e into a little magical atmosphere. In Jennings '67, Richard Kaufman describes Larry Jennings’ very clever so lution to this problem, wh ich is to present it as a variation o f the 3-card monte. Larry’s hand ling, by the way, is not described. I f you already do any version of this trick, take Larry’s basic structure of a pitchman throwing monte, and adapt it to your handling. Scripting Magic is not the place to learn this routine. Get a copy of Jennings ’67 and read Richard’s excellent writeup. Besides, the handling is much less important than what this script accom plishes. “Wild Card” is essentially a single card change, repeated over and over. Not an ideal structure. The monte presentation provides a natural dramatic build that’s lacking when you’re just doing a series of changes. Every card that’s changed is removed from play, so the game goes from seven-card monte to six to five to four to three to finally just two. Each of these makes it harder for the monte operator to cheat, as there are fewer cards to keep track of. The increased difficulty provides built-in drama. The monte setting has its own challenges. The script is based on the spectator(s) guessing where the King is, and being wrong every time. This is

an especially tricky gambit for any magic trick. It can easily make the audience resent you, as noted in “Scriptwriting: Just Say Yes” on page 175. There are several suggestions in that essay that can be added to this script, to prevent these problems from diminishing your performance. But this script shows another way. When you perform this script, it's obvious that you are performing a script. In other words, you’re openly retelling a story that hap pened somewhere else. It is meant to be fiction, and openly so. This approach has many interesting features, one o f which is that it m ini mizes the sting of Alex’s repeated incorrect guesses. Alex isn’t wrong; it’s the character Alex is playing that keeps guessing incorrectly. Alex, by being wrong, gets it right every time. This is, obviously, a subtle point. To get it across requires a deft performer. A few well-chosen words in your scrip t— delivered as an aside, to the audi enc e— will go a very long way to making this work for you.

Smart people know it's hokum; they appreciate good hokum.

Guy Jarrett SCRIPTING MAGIC | 35?

Seven-Card Monte by Larry Jennings Int—Magic Castle—Night

Larry sits in front of a packed crowd in the Close-up Gallery. Larry Step right up and win some money, ladies and gentlemen. I’ve got some money to give away right here. Larry brings out a bag of money and puts it on the table. Larry C’mon in, c’mon in—let me show you how to make a fortune today. My father died and left me a fortune, but ladies and gentlemen I’m forced to give money away every day because that was decreed by the will. I got the fortune and this set of cards and I have to stand out here and give everybody an even money bet until everybody gets rich. ’Til I give all this money away. He pulls out a huge pile of phony money and slaps it on the table. Larry Step right up, ladies and gents, you’re the lucky ones today. I have to give all this money away before I have to pay interest on it. I’ve got to give tho usands of dollars away today. You can’t not win, friends, this is an absolutely positive bet that you win, I’ll make it easier and easier each time, and if you happen to lose once I’ll make it even easier for you to lose—I mean win—the next time. The only way you can’t win is if you’re blind. Friends I was in Washington, DC, the capital of our wonderful country, doing this on the steps of the Capitol and I was mobbed by

a hundred blind people. They all mobbed me, but they were blind as bats and couldn’t see, so they ran right past me, up the steps, and into the halls of the Senate. They’re still there, running the country. Larry shows a packet of cards, spreading them to show the backs. Larry These are the very cards left to me by my dear departed father. He squares the packet and turns it face up. Larry The only way you can’t win is by not seeing the one odd card, so this is your test. I have seven cards—six are exactly alike and the seventh is different. He shows each card one at a time; there are 6 Sixes of Clubs and 1 King of Diamonds. Larry What was the odd card? Alex The King. Larry Ladies and gentlemen, you’ve all won. If you had your money on the table right now you’d have won a hundred dollars. Seven cards makes this a little difficult. Seven to one odds is kind of tough because I have to make every bet even money. That would mean I would have to pay all of you seven to one, and that makes the odds a little tough even for me, so I’ll make the odds a little easier for you. Larry turns the top 3 Sixes of Clubs face down and deals them to the table, then turns the remaining cards face down.


Larry

I put three cards on the table, and that leaves four in my hand. He counts the 4 cards in his hand. Larry Three cards on the table and four in the hand. A little game of hanky-poo, the black for me and the red for you. Watch closely. I’m going to ask questions. Larry turns the packet face up. He spreads the cards, showing 3 Sixes and a King. He takes the King and puts it in the middle of the packet. Larry I’ll hide the King. Now five will get you ten and ten will get you twenty. Where’s the King: in the hand or on the table? Anybody can answer that question, so get your money up ladies and gentlemen. Alex In your hand. Larry shows the cards in his hands—4 Sixes. Larry I’ll give you another chance. If you can pick ou t the King on the table, you win. Alex points to any card on the table. Larry Sorry, the King is here. Larry turns over one of the other two cards, which is the King. Larry The card you just touched is a Six. Larry flips Alex’s selection over, revealing a Six of Clubs. He flips it back down.


Larry The other card is also a Six.

Larry flips the third face down card over, showing it’s a Six, then back down again. Larry Let’s see if you can follow the King. Larry turns the King face down and places it on the face down packet. Larry Now, where’s the King? Alex In your hand. Larry flips the packet face up and runs through the cards. They are all Sixes of Clubs. Larry I’ll give you a third chance. If you can pick out the King on the table, you win. Alex points to one of the tabled cards. Larry Sorry, the King is here. Larry flips over one of the other tabled cards, which is the King. Larry The card you just touched is a Six. Larry shows Alex’s selection; it’s a Six. Larry The other card is also a Six. Larry shows the third tabled card—another Six of Clubs. Larry You’ve had so much trouble that I’ll give you one last chance.


Larry turns the King face down and puts it on top of the face down packet. Larry A little game of hanky-poo, the red for me, the black for you. Find a black card and double your money. Larry turns the packet face up and spreads the cards. They’re all Kings of Diamonds! He picks up the tabled cards and turns them face up. They’re also Kings! The End


Notes on Seven-Card Monte Larry’s handling opens with a Biddle steal sequence that can be really scary to perform. On the first beat of the count you take four cards as one, which tests any magician’s nerve. The key is to change the moment, which is ulti mately a scripting challenge. Check out "Scripting Counts” on the next page for a discussion o f this and other issues related to false counts and displays.

Adaptation You should be able to adapt the "d im inishing monte” hook to most any version o f this trick you already perform. Especially a version o f Peter Kane’ s "Gypsy Cu rse” presentation for this classic trick. This script ends very quickly. The visual shock of the appearance of seven Kings of Diamonds overwhelms anything you could say anyway. Still, you might add a line just before that, to make it clearer that you’re now changing the betting, and now any Six of Clubs is a winner.

References "Seven-Card Monte” appears courtesy of Richard Kaufman, who wrote and published Jennin gs ’67. "Watch the Ace” by Peter Kane was published in Hugard’s Magic Monthly, April 19 62. Tommy Wonder’s "The Tamed Card” is from The Books o f Wonder, Volume I by Stephen Minch, Hermetic Press, 1996.

Scripting Counts

I think it's a good bet that if you are readin g this book, you know at least one trick that uses a false count. Much has been written about false counts from a technical perspective. Jon Racherbaumer recently published the book Counthesaurus, which details 79 different false displays o f playing cards. But I don’t think I’ve ever seen an an alysis o f the subject from a scripting pe rspec tive. And that’s a shame. It’s a shame because false counts have been the subject of more bad impro vised scripting than almost anything else in magic. "H ere I have four Aces. One, two, three, four.” Stop m e if you’ve heard this before. But there’s a big  ger reason to consider false counts from a scripting perspective, and that’s because presentation is w hat the audience rem embers. I f you want your false count to cause your audience to experience a sensation of magic, technique alone won’t do it. It requires presentation. Because false counts have become a world unto themselves within magic, many excellent magicians have false count techniques that may charitably be described as quirky, i f not highly unnatural. Th ere are very few m agicia ns who can do an Elmsley count, say, and make it not only look fair, but make it look so natural that the audience simply doesn’t register it. This is, for me, the ul timate goal of any magic performance. My favorite thing to hear an audience member say is “But you didn’t do anything!” How many magicians can do a trick using a false count and get that reaction? The good news is that this can be achieved by any magician who takes the time to consider the false count from a presentational perspective. And the first step toward this goal is to analyze every false count within the context of its routine, and ask yourself the one, most basic question in all of magic.

What are you do ing? The Elmsley count— or as Alex Elmsley calls it, the Ghost Cou nt— is the most used false count in m agic. It may be the most widely used m ove in all of magic; i f not, it’s certainly in the photo. I personally have more than a hundred tricks in my library that use it. And no su rprise; it’s a very deceptive move and not all that hard to learn. And yet, out o f a hu ndred tricks in my library that uses the Elmsley count, only one uses it when you are actually counting the cards. That’s it! Only one of a hundred tricks that use this false count uses it to simulate a genuine count. (“Four Card Reiteration” by Dan Garrett and Dave Williamson.) Now I’m not going to tell you the Elmsley count is a bad move. I’m sure you do it,


and it works, your audiences are fooled. I do it, and it works, and my audiences are fooled, and I have no reason to think I am a better technician than you are. I’m certainly not going to tell you to stop doing the Elmsley count. All I'm say ing is, if you think of it as a count, and you’re doing it in a trick where you’re not counting the cards, or where the number of cards is not important, then you may want to change the way you think about it. The first thing you might want to change is the script you use to accompany it. If you’re showing the Aces are all face down in a twisting routine, don’t say “one, two, three, four.” Not only is it unnecessary, but it will confuse the audi ence, who will think that the number of cards must be important for you to point it out like this. It would be better— to give one simp le exam ple— to mention that the cards are marked on the back. The marks are secret, and you can’t explain how they work, but you can tell that this one is the Ace o f Hearts, this one is the Ace of Clubs, this is Spades, and this is Diamonds. From a presentation perspective, this is much more interesting to the audience than “one, two, three, four.” And from a magical perspective, it does a muc h better job o f getting the audience to focus on and rem ember the fact that the cards are all face-down. O f course, the trick itself may not support a presentation based on marked cards. That’s okay; the point isn’t for you to copy this idea slavishly into your every trick that uses an Elmsley. The point is to show you how scripting can completely change the effectiveness of a false count. And that can be done in ways that don’t require any specific script at all. All you have to do is change the way you think about what you’re doing as you display the cards. In other words, you have to think of it as displaying the cards. The rest will fall into place more or less automatically.

But who's counting Okay— get four Aces and let’s go over the Elmsley count. Even if you don’t use any of the scripting ideas in this chapter, you can still probably improve your Elmsley count, right now, just by improving your blocking. The key point, the one that will take priority over every other aspect o f the move, is to think of it as a display. Th e display actions will, o f course, be tied to your script. Just for the sake of example, we’ll use the “marked cards” bit above. But this idea can be tied to any presentation you like. So, before you start, let’s clear up a few technical details in your handling. Not so much to show you that your technique is less than it can be (although, based on the several hundred Elmsley counts I’ve seen, that’s quite possible). Take the four Aces face down, put the third Ace face up, and do an Elmsley


count. Do this before you read on. Did you start with the cards in your left hand, and then count them back into your left hand? M ost people do. It doesn't make sense, but you wou ldn’t believe how many magicians do this. And it just doesn’t look quite right. The audience may not be able to articulate wh y— they won’t even know why them selves. But they know something is not quite normal, and they can't quite tell wh y you’re doing it that way. It is built in to the human brain to pay attention to any action whose motivation you do not know. Okay, do another Elmsley, and this time pay attention to how the cards move about during the count. Does the packet basically stay in one place, while individual cards get moved around it? That’s another common occurrence that makes this count like an unnatural, attention-getting (for all the wrong reasons) “move.” It kind o f looks like you’re shu ffling the cards aroun d— it certainly doesn’t look like you’re displaying them.

Block that count Okay, let’s have another go at the Elmsley count. Ostensibly, we’re going to be showing secret marks on the backs o f the cards, starting with the top card of the stack. We’ll break the display of this card down into three parts: 1) Start with the cards in your right hand, ready to Elmsley (you’re going to count them into your left). Your arm and hand are relaxed, so the cards are just in front o f your stomach, slightly to your right. Your left hand hangs at your side. 2) Move your right hand away from you, toward the audience, as though displaying the top card o f the packet. Say something about the m ar ks— the audience can’t see them, you’re not allowed to explain them, but they’re there, trust me; this card is the Ace of Clubs, etc. 3) Now bring the right hand back as the left hand comes forward; they meet right in front o f your stomach, where the cards started (i.e., before you moved the hand forward). 4) The left hand takes the top card from the packet and moves back to your left. The hand doesn’t quite hang there, since it has a card in it. But it moves back to your left a bit. This is important. The right hand moves forward again, to display the new top card o f the packet. The point o f all this rather close detail is to start thinking in terms o f your performing space having three separate, distinct areas. One is where the cards begin in your right ha nd — sort of the default position for the packet. The second place is toward the audience, where you display the cards. The third is

where yo ur left hand holds the card s that have alread y been displayed. These positions are not of equal importance. This is crucial! Attention is

mostly focused on the second position, where the cards are being displayed, c ,irds in the first position are in kind of an on-deck area, so they’re not quite

as important. When they move into the third position, they’re completely un important. Back to the count. You’ve just taken the first card in the left hand and are 11is playing the second card in the right. T he hands come together and you take the second card in the left hand, but you secretly do the exchange. The right hand moves seamlessly forward to display the third (really fourth) card, then the fourth (really first). Doing the E lmsley count as a display like this will make it seem much more natural to an audience. And notice how it conditions the audience to focus on the second position, where the cards are displayed, while the move happens in the first position, on the offbe at. This is a great example o f how scripting can conceal a method, by providing something more interesting for the audience to consider.

Biddle me this The same exact strategy can be used for Biddle steal sequences. Larry Jen nings’ handling of “Wild Card” (page 266) opens with a Biddle steal sequence that can be really scary to perform . On the first beat o f the count you take four cards as one, totally exposed. The key is to change the momen t, wh ich is ultimately a scripting challenge. If you draw a card (really four) o ff the packet and hold it out for inspection, the audience may very well notice three extra cards. But instead, apply the same three-position approach we used for the Elmsley: Hold the packet in Biddle grip. Reach the hand toward the spectator and comment on the visible card. Now bring the hands together, do the Biddle steal into the left hand, and move the right hand back toward the spectator. The difference may seem tiny. It is tiny. But it has a huge effect. Because now, the move happens in a place (and time) of reduced importance, and the four cards are held as one out o f the frame. You don’t even have to rewrite Larry’s dialog— just change the stage direc tions. Start with the face-up packet in your right hand and say “I have seven cards.” Now point to the Six of Clubs on the face with your left first finger as you say “ Six,” then draw the top card into the left hand and turn all attention to the next Six o f Clubs, on the face o f the packet, as you say “are exactly alike.” Draw off that Six of Clubs and display the next, repeating “alike” under your


breath to reinforce the point. Then draw that Six off, revealing the Kin# of Diamonds, as you say “...and the seventh is different.” With this script, attention is never on the card(s) in your left hand. Every thing focuses on the cards in the right. This basic idea can be used in almost all Biddle count/Biddle steal sequences.

The Real Work There is almost no detail of a magic performance so small that you can't improve it by considering it from a scripting perspective.

The Business Card Prophesy

I

n 1952 Bill Simon published a trick with the unassuming title “The Business Card Prophesy” in the equally modestly titled book Effective Card Magic. Over the intervening fifty years, this trick— based on a

John Scarne effect— has risen to the status o f a classic. It’s a remark

ably simple and deceptive way to produce a very clean and magical prediction effect from any shuffled deck. A great part o f this trick’s effectiveness is that it relies on a single, bold discrepancy which is so well-masked there seems to be no handling whatso ever. It requires no setup and is easy to do and easy to remember. Tricks with these qualities are worth their weigh t in gold. I f nothing else, a simple, natural handling gives you maximum freedom on which to build your presentation. You can see this in “Gemini Twins,” another trick with the same qualities that makes “The Business Card Prophesy” so effective and flexible. I had forgotten all about this effect until I read the following presentation using fortune-cookie fortunes by Mark Joerger, who is a magician, computer programmer, the world’s greatest living expert on the life and times o f under ground legend Flash Mildew, and a professional fighting robot constructor. I asked Mark if I could have it for this book and he agreed immediately. Good thing, because it’s very hard to pressure a man with his own army o f fighting robots.


Fortune Cookie by Mark Joerger Int—Living Room—Evening Mark shuffles a deck of cards. Mark I had lu nch tod ay at a Chinese re stau rant , and I got a weird fortune. Should we see if comes true? Mark pulls a bunch of small slips of paper out of his pocket. Mark I save the weird ones. This one I got last year. “You have an unusual equipment for succ ess, use it pro per ly.” Is tha t too vague, or too specific? I can’t tell. Mark puts that one to the bottom of the pile and reads another. Mark Ah, the classic, “Help, I am being held prisoner in a Chinese Bakery.” Another. Mark This one is a little insulting, I thought. “Do not allow yourself to be distracted." Like I’m so distracted. And why do they all have these lucky numbers? 7... 19... 23... What were we talking about? Oh yeah—the fortunes. Another. Mark I got this one in Haight-Ashbury. “A starship ride has been reserved to you.” By the way, if you’re in Haight-Ashbury and you get this fortune? Don’t eat the cookie.


Mark puts that one to the bottom and finally sees the one he was looking for. He takes it and puts the rest of the stack away. Mark Here it is. “Touch free card between Six and Eight of Spade mean big fortune.” When I tried th is 1 tou ch ed th e Three of Clubs, which is not the card between the Six and Eight of Spades—excuse me, Spade. Why don’t we see if you can touch the Seven of Spades? Could be worth a big fortune. Mark spreads the deck between his hands. Mark With your index finger, just touch the back of any card. Alex touches the back of any card. Mark slides it about halfway out of the spread. Mark Now th at’s a free card, right? Alex Yes. Mark Because if it’s not free, you don’t get the fortune. It’s free? Alex Yes. Mark If that’s the Seven of Spade, this could be your lucky day. Mark turns the card face up. It’s not the Seven of Spade. Mark Damn. I really thought that was going to work. You know I’ve tried this almost fifty times by now, it should have worked at


least once. Oh well, I guess you won’t get your fortune. Mark takes one last look at the fortune. Mark Wait a minute. Maybe... Mark spreads the deck out again. Mark Maybe they meant the free card was in between the Six and Eight of Spades. Is that possible? Mark slides the face-up selection, along with the cards directly above and below it, out of the pack. He slowly turns them over. The Six and Eight of Spades. Mark hands the fortune to the spectator. Mark Here—this fortune could be worth a lot of money.

The End

Notes on Fortune Cookie You can easily make fake fortune-cookie fortunes on a computer. Rem em  ber to include “ lucky numbers” across the bottom of most o f them, and make them in a few different fonts, as your collection is supposed to have been gathered over several years. The next time you’re in a Chinese restaurant, keep your fortune and make your props look like that. It is possible to do this routine without the actual fortunes; you can just recite them from memory. But you will definitely want to make up a copy of the prediction fortune. I f you store this in your wallet, you’ll always be ready to do this routine. I think you’ll agree that any trick that requires only a two-inch piece of paper falls in the “packs small” category.

Method If by some chance you’re not familiar with this trick, here’s how it goes. Put the Six of Spades on top, Eight of Spades on the bottom. After reading the fortunes, spread the deck in your hands and have Alex touch any card. Outjog this card as you comment about the free selection, etc. Now you’re going to turn the card face up; this is the only move in the entire routine. With the right hand, take all the cards above the outjogged card. Now turn the right hand palm down, grasp the outjogged card, and turn it face up. All attention is on the face of the selection coming into view, so nobody notices that the selection is now outjogged on top of the right hand half. Place the left hand half on top of the selection, pinching it between the halves. You have thus, in turning the selected card face up, cut the deck around it, which brings it between the Six and Eight o f Spade. Excuse m e— Spades.

Adaptation The easiest way to change this script is to use different fortunes. Here are a few alternates. Some o f them were written by me, and some by Mark, so if you ask either of us about any of them, we can deny it. A friend of mine actually got the first one in a cookie.

Confucious say: Think of Charleton Heston today. (pause) His PR agent doesn’t miss a trick. Never wear your best pants to fight for freedom.

SCRIPTING MAGIC

You will meet an important person who will help you advance professionally. (looks over audience) Was that guy from Leno here this show? Here’ s one for an adult crowd.

Virginity like bubble, one prick, all gone. I’m not saying who wrote the next two, but they clearly show the effects of spending all your free time building fighting robots.

A wise man does not trust a tall milkmaid with no stool. There is no falsehood that cannot be revealed by three days rain. Mark does a nice bit where after reading this last fortune, he slowly puts the fortune into his mouth and swallows it.

References "The Business Card Prophesy” appeared in Effective Card Magic by Bill Si mon. This book was reprinted in paperback for under ten bucks by Dover Books, under the new name Card Magic fo r Amateurs and Magicians. David Regal’s excellent book Constant Fooling includes a new variation of the Business Card Prophecy move by Bruce Cervon and Jim Patton, based on refinements to the original by Simon Aronson and Dr. Sawa. The Simon-Patton-Cervon-Aronson-Sawa move requires a table but is very cool. Find it.

Two in the Hand, One in the Pocket

T

his is an offbeat script. It was originally developed for The H opping Half, which is basically “Two in the Hand, One in the Pocket” with coins. However this script plays better if both objects are identical, so I use small toy people, because I have two children and there are

thousands o f small toy people all over my house. You can work out a version o f this trick u sing three o f alm ost any small ob

ject, and everyone in your audience who was ever a kid w ill immediately iden tify with it. It’s pretty snappy, has guaranteed laughs, and despite its appeal to the child in all of us, it really does a good job o f fram ing the magic. Most magicians do Two in the Hand, One in the Pocket with balls, or coins, because that's how they learned it. But this is really one of the great flexible basic effects in magic. You can use almost any small objects. There's nothing wrong with using coins or balls, but you're missing a great chance to have the objects mean something. You don’t get that many chances in magic to have your props mean som ething.


Repeat by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete shows two tiny dolls to Alex. Pete Pete and Repeat were walking down the street. Pete... Pete takes one of the dolls and puts it in his pocket. Pete ...fell in the river! Who was left? Alex Repeat. Pete Okay. Pete opens his hand to reveal both dolls. Pete Pete and Repeat were walking down the street. Pete... Pete takes one of the dolls and puts it in his pocket. Pete ...fell in the river! Who was left? Alex Repeat. Pete Okay. Pete opens his hand to reveal both dolls. Pete Pete and Repeat were walking down the street. Pete...

Pete takes one of the dolls and puts it in his pocket. Pete ...fell in the river! Who was left? Alex Repeat. Pete (very slowly) Okay. Pete opens his hand to reveal both dolls. Pete Pete and Oh Dear God Please Stop were walking down the street. Pete fell in the river. Pete takes one of the dolls and puts it in his pocket. Pete Who was left? Alex Oh Dear God Please Stop. Pete As you wish. Pete opens his hand—the remaining doll has vanished.

The End


Notes on Repeat This can be played all sorts of ways, and if you're at all funny any of them will get laughs. This script gives Alex a chance to be funny, which you can then play off of to make things even funnier. But it doesn’t require Alex to be funny. Th e situation gives you more than enough to make comedy from. Occasionally Alex will not get the last bit, and will say “Repeat” instead of “Oh Dear God Please Stop.” I f that happens, I just repeat my previous line, punching the words “Oh Dear God Please Stop.”

Method Start with two toy people in your left pocket and one in your right. Reach into your right pocket and finger palm the toy person, but pretend you didn’t find anything. Now reach into the left pocket, get both people in your hand, and bring them out. Hold the left hand open but with your fingers curled a bit. Mention Pete and Repeat, and then, as you pick up Pete, you drop the duplicate from right finger palm. It lands at the base of the fingers, where it rem ains hidden, even while y our hand is open. You’ll have to practice in a mir ror to find out how much you have to curl your fingers to keep the toy person hidden, w hich will vary depe nding on the size and shape o f the toy.

Adaptation Even if you don’t want to do this trick, it’s a useful and fun exercise to con sider what objects you would use. You can find a bewildering variety of tiny doll figures at toy stores (and arts and crafts stores). You can take three poker chips and print “Pete” on two and “Repeat” on one. Or you can ditch this script entirely and think about a script you would write for your own set of two, or three, or four objects. When I do this for people who are fam iliar with Abbot and Costello, after the third time Alex says “Repeat,” I say, (very slowly), “O-kay,” then, with increas ing speed, “Who’s on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Kn ow — third base!” This is a big laugh i f the audience knows Who’s On First. I f not, death.

References This trick was invented by Ed Mario.

I've Got o Surprise for You: Essay by Jamy Ian Swiss

W

hen I asked Jamy to contribute a script to this book, I was not surprised when he agreed. Jam y takes m agic as seriously as anyone on the planet. I wasn’t even surprised to learn that he had actually written a booklet called Theatrics which con-

tained original scripts for eight contemporary standards of card magic. I was

surprised, and thrilled and honored, when Jamy sent in his script for the clas sic Eddie Fechter trick “I’ve Got a Surprise for You,” and a i2,ooo-word essay discussing the trick, the script, the interaction between the two, scripting in magic, scripting in general, drama, structure, dramatic structure, the nature o f surprise in art, Aristotle’s katharsis, and the proper way to perform Frances Carlyle’s “Homing Card” and David Williamson’s “Fifty-One Cards to Pocket.” Jamy is famou s for being able to d iscourse, learnedly and at length, on a great range o f subjects related to the m agical arts. I was surprised, because I knew that Jamy was giving me something very valuable. This is the first trick Jamy teaches his students in private lessons and small workshops, and I know Jamy was considering writing this up as a standalone manuscript or a chapter in his next book— you’re getting a large amount of extremely valuable information. By the way, I attended one of Jam y’s workshops, and if I may be permitted a digression — this is a Jamy Ian Swiss essay, after all— it was the best $8 0 I’ve ever spent in magic. I learned to do Vernon’s “Topping the Deck” palm — the single most valuable thing I’ve ever learned in magic. If, by chance, you have skipped ahead and read the script already, you are right now wondering what on Earth even the most prolific author could pos sibly talk about for 12,000 words. As usual, Jamy’s essay and analysis range far beyond the narrow confines of the trick, or even of the world of magic, to connect it to the world outside o f magic, which, lest we forget, is considerably broader. This entry follows the format o f the rest o f the book, but it is entirely Jam y’s words. First there’s a discussion o f the trick itself, then the script, then notes on the script. Finally, there are three other scripts for the same trick. Then it’s back to m e— I’ll see you in 34 pages.

The Trick Let’s begin with the trick, the creation of the great Buffalo magic bartender, the late Eddie Fechter. Entitled “I’ve Got a Surprise for You,” the trick was first shown to me by another late and great magician, Michael Skinner, as un ique a ma n as he was an artist. Michael was one o f the finest sleight-of-hand close-up magicians whom I’ve ever had the pleasure and privilege to know. He taught me a great deal about magic, and I am constantly aware o f the gap his absence has left in my life and in the conjuring world. Michael hailed from Rochester, New York, not far from Buffalo, where Ed die Fechter starred “nitely” at his Fork’s Hotel. Fechter was Skinner’s earliest major influence in magic, long before Michael headed west toward Dai Ver non. Fechter was in fact a profound ma gical influence, on the likes o f the late Lou Gallo, his son Mike Gallo, and the incomparable Derek Dingle, among many other sleight-of-hand greats. The plot of the trick, in brief, goes like this: A card is freely selected and returned to the pack. The mag ician displays the top card o f the pack and asks if this is the spectator’s selection; the specta tor indicates that this card is not in fact his. This indifferent card is dealt face down to the table. Th e m agician reaches into his pocket and retrieves another card; while the spectator may suspect that this new card is his selection, the magician reveals that the card from the pocket is in fact the very same card that was dealt to the table a moment before. Returning to the previously tabled card, the magician turns it over, revealing that it has now transformed into the spectator’s selection. The plot of “I’ve Got a Surprise for You” is deceptively simple. It does su perb service as an openin g item, for several reasons. In the first few mom ents of a performance of close-up magic, a wise performer will try to quickly ac complish several goals, including: to credential himself, indicating that he is good at his job and worth a few moments of his audience’s valuable time and attention; to communicate that the experience will be enjoyable, interactive, and fun; and that the experience will be socially, emotionally, economically, and physically safe. That is, there will be no emotional cost to the spectator; he will not be em barrassed, humiliated, made the butt o f the joke, or wo rse; and, in short, that nothing precious will be taken from him, including his dignity. “I’ve Got a Surprise for You” does excellent service in addressing these im portant priorities. A lot of magic happens in a small span of time: A card dealt to the table travels magically and immediately to the magician’s pocket; a moment later, an indifferent card on the table magically transforms into a spectator’s selection. And the plotting is inherently playful and fun; deftly


handled, the outcome will bring a pleasant laugh of surprise and satisfaction. (Poorly handled, the spectator can readily be made to feel like the loser in a trivial yet unfair battle.) Eddie Fechter was a superb judge of human behavior and psychology, and there was a charming playfulness in his work that often entailed playing with the audien ce— “messing with them ,” i f you will. In the wrong hands this approach can readily become merely gauche, but given Fechter’s relaxed con fidence and social agility, it was delightful. In his approach to this trick, the card was selected and returned, and then he would show the top card, asking i f this was the spectator’s selection. On receiving a negative response, he would table the card as he announced, “I’ve got a surprise for you.” Reaching into his pocket he would withdraw a card, wh ich — in light of the accompanying annou ncem ent— the spectator would immediately guess was going to be his selection. Fechter would reveal the card, which the spectator recognized as the miss from a moment before. As a result, the spectator would invariably dive for the previously tabled card. On turning it over he would discover his selec tion, at which point Fechter would wryly comment, “That’s the surprise!” This is as good a study, manipulation, and prediction of human behavior as any con man’s scam. Played innocently, Fechter would bait the psychologi cal hook with the self-assured pronouncement, “I’ve got a surprise for you,” assuring that the spectator would try to get ahead of the magician and seize on the pocketed card as his chosen one. Thus the revelation that the pocketed card has now become the same indifferent card shown a m oment earlier (and apparently resting on the table) would be received with great surprise, and equally certain was the spectator’s ensuing rush for the tabled card. Fechter’s dry sum m ary— “That’s the surprise!” — would doubtless be greeted with laughter, reflecting the spectator’s enjoyment and appreciation o f the fact that he had been taken in by a master. These are the sound reasons why “I’ve Got a Surprise for You” registers so consistently well with audiences. There is spectator involvement, there is the emotional hook of the apparent mistake (should you choose to portray the in different card in that manner), and there is inherent hu mo r in the surprising turn o f events. [Pete note: for more on this, read Jamy’s essay “ Good Trick, Bad Trick” in Shattering Illusions.] These are good building blocks with which to begin turning a card trick into an entertaining performance piece. Neverthe less, in my own performance of the trick, I do not play the beats of Fechter’s surprises in quite the same manner. Letting the spectator dive for the card is a fun course of events at the bar. In my hands, however, I prefer to avoid the slight note of “practical joke” sensibility that prevails in this approach. And,


too, I prefer the theatrical control and focus of revealing the finale of the trick myself, displaying the selection in my own hands. These choices are neither better nor worse than Fechter’s, they are simply choices that better suit me and my performance style.

The Tragedy I believe there is yet another element that renders “I've Got a Surprise for You” such an effective magic trick — a bit more difficult to pin down in analysis, perhaps, yet in fact comprising the core of the trick’s fundamental strengths. I f every magic trick is a story o f sorts — not a literal story, but rather a structured story, including among other elements a requisite beginning, middle, and en d— “ I’ve Got a Surprise for You” is a particularly good one. It’s narrative structure is sound. And the sound structure of its plotting provides a dance of sorts, with a distinctive rhythm that carries the spectator along, and for which the presentation, whatever its specifics might be, should serve as accompanying music. The reason the structure of “I’ve Got a Surprise for You” is so solid is that not only is it surprising, but it is also logical and, at the same time, ultimately inevitable. The plot begins with the reliable dramatic device of a conflict (the mistake); proceeds with a surprise that is not played cheaply (that is, it enters not as a non sequitur but rather with a logic of its own); and resolves itself in a manner that is no facile deus ex machina— a contrived outside, unforeseen force or device— but rather is satisfying to the audience. Aristotle, in Poetics, discussed this aspect o f inevitability as part of his theory o f tragedy. Despite his focus on tragedy, Aristotle offers much food for thought when considering the theatrical structure o f all drama, and indeed o f a good magic trick as well. Aristotle posits that a plot— which he describes as “ar rangement of the incidents” (meaning the structure, not the details of the story itself) must be whole in that it includes a beginning, middle, and end. And he states that the story must possess a “u nity o f action,” that each plot step must lead inevitably to the next without outside influence, i.e., the afore mentioned deus ex machina. It may seem odd to suggest that this caution be applied to magic, for what is magic if not a kind of unreal, unrelated, outside force? Yet as many have pointed out before, even the illogical world of magic requires its own internal logic in order to be com pelling, lest it become a mere display of random, meaningless acts, with no emotional impact as a result. As an aside, examples o f “random , m eaningless acts with no emotional im  pact” can be found in mo st any standard man ipulative act, in which quantities of useless stuff are produced ad infinitum. Although the emotional lacking

of such material can occasionally be overcome by the force of sheer beauty, it is a feat not easily or commonly achieved. Interestingly, this kind of emo tion-free, context-less approach to magic appears to be a consistent quality of present-day contest acts. Magic contests are mostly judged by amateurs, not professionals. Thus am ateu rs— fascinated by novelty above all else, fol lowed by method (and they also seek novelty in that)— give awards most often to that which they have not seen before. (History has clearly demonstrated however that just because a contest judge has not seen something before is a far cry from evidence that such a thing is in actuality new.) That such acts often seem to be performed in an emotional vacuum, with no human connec tion anywhere in sight, is perhaps an understandable artifact o f an essentially amateur-dominated phenomenon. Working magicians understand that with out some sort of connection with the audience, mag ic is not only emotionally meaningless, but in very real terms, is literally worthless. But no such require ment is made o f a contest act. Emotional impact or the lack of it notwithstanding, determining what is logical or inevitable in a magic trick is often a difficult task. This element of inevitability may not always become clear to the audience until the conclusion of the story is reached. Therefore, it is important to be aware there is a huge difference between inevitability and obviousness. Let us turn to the movies for some ready examples. As a great fan o f cinema and one who consum es hu ge quantities of that modern art form, I have a substantial tolerance for lousy film art. I often feel I can learn something from bad film (as well as be somewhat entertained by it), which I do not believe is true of bad episodic television, where I find the obvious constraints of the form simply too... well, obvious and constraining. But the one movie formula for which I have the least tolerance is the so-called “romantic comedy,” at least in its typical current form; indeed, the very sight of these two words in close proximity can often be sufficient to cause me to break out in hives. Here I do not speak o f the stylish classic wit-fests like H oward Hawks’ His Gal Friday and the like, but rather the lead-weighted plotting of a dismal contemporary film turd such as Maid in Manhattan. (There are many ready examples, and I do not mean to suggest this particular turd smells any worse than countless others.) Whenever I see a trailer for this kin d o f film, I have a standard joke which I can usually rely on to garner a laugh in the theater. The trailer drones on, dem  onstrating through word and picture that he is a handsom e Prin ce— okay, well, he’s a handsome rich and powerful guy, which is what passes for roy alty he re— and she is a mere maid, but conveniently charmin g and physically


exq uisite— and clearly they have nothing in common and there are all these quite imp ossible obstacles between them — and-but-and-but-and-but-and-but what will happen? And when this thoroughly standard one-size-fits-all trailer (complete with theatrically irrelevant but commercially viable music from the ever-so-saleable soundtrack CD) fades to black, I always declare aloud: “Those two could never get together.” And this does result in a predictable laugh be cause of course the entire audience knows precisely how the story will end, based solely on that brief two-minute narrative collage, in which the mystery o f possible outcomes is purely the thinnest o f pretenses. The fact that the key beats o f such a film could be more or less filled in by a computer program and requires little in the way o f human interference is a mere bonus to the domi nance o f the Peter Principle's role in the Hollywood moviem aking m achine. This serves as further proof, by the wa y— as if any more were requ ired— that most people appear to abhor su rprise in their art (not to mention in their lives). I prefer my art to be provocative, to challenge my comfort zo nes— indeed, to render me uncomfortable. I want art to make m e feel some thing— and feel ing anything is far preferable to feeling nothing. But mainstream film audi ences find any significant surprise such anathema that they demand trailers that reveal multiple significant plot points, even plot turns in thrillers, thus rendering the thrills safe and neutered well before they purchase their ticket. Remember: If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it this way. Forty-five million Am ericans read one or more romance novels a year; it is an inexorable con vention o f the form that the heroine must eventually arrive at a happy ending. The im plications for magic, should you care to consider them, are potentially profound. Is magic, which we regard as surprising virtually by definition, in fact visually surprising but em otionally and theatrically obvious? My point in this b rie f poison pen letter to the current state o f romantic com  edies is that the conclusion of Maid in Manhattan is not merely inevitable— it is painfully, excruciatingly obvious, and this is what makes it such an awful work o f art. (And despite m y penchant for digression, I shall not diverge into a discussion of the relationship between art and commerce. At least, not today.) However, let us consider as contrast another example, the film, Shakespeare in Love. In this romantic comedy, we m eet a hardy troupe o f young actors and other theatre types who within very short order begin to plan to, yes, put on a play, which happens to be the newest work o f the stru ggling young playwright Will Shakespeare, a play thus far entitled Romeo and Ethyl, the Pirate's Daughter. Having met the protagonists and grasped the fundamental plot elements, we are also introduced to the various obstacles ahead, both romantic (the fair

maiden, Viola, loves the playwright but her father has promised her hand in marriage to an obnoxious nobleman) and thespian (the same fair maiden longs to be an actress but in Elizabethan England is legally denied the chance, since men play all the female roles as well as the male ones). Meanwhile, the audience knows several things that the characters do not, including not only that the depicted play is going to eventually morph into Romeo and Juliet , but also that our male and female protagonists must somehow eventually end up cast in those very roles (that is, in the play within the play, i f you will). We know all th is— rapidly, naturally, intuitively, logically— by the time we are 25 minutes into the film’s 123-minute running time, yet we do not see, given the unfold ing of the story, how it can possibly occur. Viola has disguised herself as a man in order to accept a man’s role in the production, a far cry from ever portraying Juliet. However (and perhaps due in no small measure to the fact that the film is co-written by playwright Tom Stoppard), as the nar rative draws closer and closer to the end we grow increasingly mystified as to by what means the desired end will be justified, and perhaps even a little anxious that justifiable ends will be achieved. Thus when in fact our protago nists somehow at long last manage to assume their rightful roles, and there is much joy in the Elizabethan equivalent of Mudville (not to mention amid the cinema audience), the experience is a deeply pleasing one because the conclu sion, while satisfyingly inevitable, was reached by subtle and elegant means. The process was not banal, trite, or obvious. It was pleasantly unexpected and surprising, but it did not come as a non sequitur; there was no deus ex machi na, no man-eating alligator. (Well, okay, maybe there was a bit of machina,

since the actor playing Juliet loses his voice, whereupon our heroine must step in to take the role.) This is, in short, good narrative.

Inevitability and the Anticipated Surprise Let us now return to magic and further consider this subject of inevitabil ity in the case of another fine card trick, David Williamson’s “Fifty-One Cards to Pocket.” In this neo-classic routine, a selected card is invisibly transported from the deck to the magician’s pocket; the effect is repeated; and on making a third attempt, the magician appears to fail, finding an indifferent card in his pocket this time instead of the selection. On a second attempt, another indif ferent card is produced. And then another and another, until he is withdraw ing handfuls of cards from his pocket, eventually totalling almost the entire deck— whereupon he, and the audience, discover that the selection is now the sole card remaining in the magician’s other hand, where the deck had begun moments before.


Although in Williamson’s original routine the initial Card-to-Pocket se quences were not based precisely on those of Francis Carlyle’s "Homing Card,” the brilliant structure of Carlyle’s modern classic appears to have be come the preferred method for most modern practitioners, and the resulting combination— the two-phase Carlyle "H om ing Card” followed by the third climactic phase of William son’s "Fifty-One Cards to Pocket” — has become ut terly ubiquitous in the field. (One excellent example of this approach would be Roberto Giobbi’s "Homing Card Plus” in his Card College Volume Two. The combination has become so commonplace today however that further publi cations based on min or variations will generally be regarded as pointle ss— as many have already been so deemed.) I believe that narrative structure and inevitability have much to do with the reasons for this success. Before we address those issues, however, please join me on an important digression concerning method. Carlyle’s "Homing Card” rests on a superb methodology, including details that are often overlooked by casual practitio ners, such as the pseudo-duplicate mis-show, as well as the use of advance knowledge o f the force card’s identity in cleverly misdirecting the second entry into the pocket for the conclusion o f the first phase. The proper application o f the force card is to reach into the pocket, withdraw the X card (the pseudo-du plicate), look at the face, and announce the nam e o f the selection as i f you just saw it for the first time; the card is im mediately returned to the pocket, despite the fact that the supposed identity has been announced. Looking at the specta tor for confirmation (and simultaneously palming the actual signed selection from the top o f the pack), the magician suddenly "rem embers” something, and returns to the pocket to apparently retrieve the selection for the second time: “Oh, and is that your signature on it?” Because o f the early confirmation of the card’s identity (thanks to the force), and the apparent oversight justify ing the otherwise illogical return to the pocket, the methodology is utterly deceptive. (Although this is not described in Stars of Magic, it does appear in The Magic o f Francis Carlyle by Roger Pierre.) While we’re on this subject, many magicians now try to surreptitiously ex change the selection for the now pocketed X card. This is terribly bad form and displays a complete lack o f insight into the psychology o f deception in general and misdirection in particular. The correct approach is to openly say, with an accompanying dem onstration: “This card traveled all the way from the pack to my pocket but you never saw m e put my hand in m y pocket, isn’t that right?” (I believe this is an approximation of Francis Carlyle’s actual script.) As you say the words “put my hand in m y pocket,” you put your hand in your pocket and calmly execute the exchange. The card is next inserted into the pack and


thanks to the pseudo-duplicate, (the index of which is casually concealed by the extended left forefinger, not the fingers of the right hand) you can now flash a portion of its face to drive home the fact that this is the selection. El egant. Merciless. Genius. One would think it would be difficult to improve on such a masterwork, and indeed, no one really did for several decades. But Williamson’s 51-to-Pocket climax is in fact that rare bird: an actual improvement of an already unargu able jewel. One reason that there is room for improvement at all is that “Hom  ing Card” consisted of two phases, and while this is not in itself bad, we do recognize the universal appeal of three— the Rule of Three as it is sometimes called. And this in fact is one of the reasons the routine feels better this way: it gets a third phase. But more than this, there is tremendous appeal in the plotting— in the writ ing, if you will— when the routine is structured in this manner. After making the card travel cleanly to the pocket, the magician repeats it under impossible circumstances. He has established the miracle and proven that he can do it again when all attention is brought to bear. There does not appear anything more left to do; there does not appear anything else possible. There is a slight unspoken sense, in fact, if you are sensitive to it, as the perform er begins the third phase, that the audience wonders why he is even bothering. A sense of overkill is in the air. But then there is that all important conflict— the mistake o f “I’ve Got a Surprise for You,” the obstacle to the love affair of Shakespeare in Love — when the wrong card comes out of the pocket. Then the surprise, that left turn, as interest is raised, and excitement becomes palpable, as more cards come from the pocket. The audience does not have a chance to fully grasp all the signifi cance of this, when suddenly, the entire deck lies scattered on the floor, and one card remains in the hand: it is the selection! Katharsis! That is, Aristotle’s desired katharsis , the cleansing o f tragic em otions— all is right with the world! This ending is so deeply satisfying— so inevitable— the audience, given the opportunity, will fairly yelp with glee. How to properly give them that opportunity brings us to the subject of the anticipated surprise. In the 1970 s, Bill Nagler, crediting the point to Alex Elms ley, pointed out in The Magic Circular that the best surprise climax is one that does not come upon the spectators as a complete shock, but rather which the spectators are allowed to figure out for themselves just a moment before it is revealed. Nagler points out that this serves to assist the spectator in resolving some o f the psychological frustration o f magic. But to me, it also strengthens the impact of a good effect. The audience is given the brief opportunity to


consider the likelihood of what is about to occur; perhaps to begin to logically reject that likelihood; and then begin to appreciate the significance and value of the impending impossible achievement. In the case of “Fifty-One Cards to Pocket,” most performers can’t wait to demonstrate their cleverness and their victory over the audience by showing the selection that remains in their ha nd — they fairly race to this finish line. Perhaps it merely seem s obvious to them and the desire is to get it over with as a result. But consider the antici pated surprise instead. When I perform this routine, I keep my attention on the 51 cards on the floor o f the stage. When I can’t find any more in the pocket, I do not look directly to the hand. I look at the cards on stage; then I look at the audience; and then, quite deliberately, I look at my left hand, which up until now has supposedly been holding the deck, and in which the back of a card can be seen. I then look back at the audience aga in — and I pause. This is the best part. The audience begins to understand. You give them a chance to do the work— to make the discovery, and then to enjoy having made it. And you will hear the gasps. You will hear the exclamations. “Oh, no!” “No way!” An d now — only now— do I slowly turn over the card and reveal the selec tion. I want to make certain they have had the chance to consider the impos sibility, to realize the implications, to appreciate the outcome, and above all, to enjoy the perfect beauty and rightness and triumph o f it. This is so very much better than racing to beat them to the punch merely to surprise them. And so, we now return to “ I’ve Got a Surprise for You.” The ostensible plot of the trick is to find the spectator’s card, to wit: The card is selected, noted, and returned, whereupon the magician produces it, perhaps at the top o f the pack. I will pause here while you consider the impact o f such linear plotting, and the resulting yawn. Let us consider this Option A. Yes, I know: dull, very dull indeed. I agree. But it is an optional approach. Consider, however, how much more interesting matters get when the magi cian turns up an indifferent card and asks if this is the spectator’s selection, and the answer is no. The initial response to this may be disappointment, a touch of surprise, even a bit of glee. No matter which, interest is created. And indeed, another option— Option B — would be to bring the trick to a conclu sion a moment later by simply transforming this indifferent card into the se lection. Not bad. Doubtless better than Option A. Option C would be to perhaps toss aside this indifferent card, and then produce the selection from the pocket. This would be surprising, but leaves the presence o f the indifferent card hang ing around as a bit of ugly unfin ished


business. But thanks to Eddie Fechter, we can proceed toward Option D: When a card is next withdrawn from the pocket, the spectator’s logic is often likely to lead him to guess he’s about to see his card on the other sid e— but instead, he is shown the card he saw dealt to the table a moment before. Now there are two layers o f the unexpected, two layers o f conflict and obstacle— not unlike the rules o f movie structure, and not unlike the rules o f tragedy. A nd now, when the tabled card is revealed to have changed into the selection, the surprise of that revelation is mixed with a deeply satisfying sense of resolution, of right ness, o f inevitability— not the obviousness o f Maid in Manhattan's resolution, but rather the pleasant Aristotelian satisfaction o f Shakespeare in Love, serving perhaps as a tiny simulacrum of Aristotle’s desired katharsis. While this may seem an un rea sonable weight to hoist on the shoulders of such a simple card trick, I believe we have discovered the workings of the consistently ready appeal of “I’ve Got a Surprise for You .”

The Method In brief, the selection is controlled to the top of the pack by my favorite method (or, if you insist, yours). A double lift ensues, revealing an indifferent card at the top. The double is turned down and the top card (apparently the indifferent card just displayed but actually the selection) is dealt to the table. The top card of the pack is now secretly secured in Classic Palm, and then conveyed to the pocket, whence the card is produced, permitting the tabled card to be revealed as the selection. Fechter employed an additional sleight, the Toss Change, in order to switch out the indifferent card for the selection (This is an old sleight which it has recently been discovered was utilized— though not necessarily invented— by Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser.) Instead o f turning the double over again onto the deck in order to then deal the top card to the table— a deeply contrived and illogical action that is the bane o f such applications o f the double-lift— the Toss Change is relied upon to achieve the switch. This is a somewhat difficult sleight in which the double is displayed in the free hand, and as the double is then turned down, the top card is tossed to the table as the face card is se cretly unloaded onto the pack. I have no doubt this was effective in Fechter’s consummately casual handling, but I have never cared for the contrived grip the sleight requires. What I have used at times is Derek Dingle’s variant, the “Alpha Toss,” which appeared in the debut issue of Richard's Almanac (which I still recall receiving when it was handed out as a freebie to attendees of the first New York Magic Symposium in September 1982). Dingle’s version pro


vides a far more natural grip, but is also more difficult, and the tim ing is criti cal. The move was perfectly justified in the context of Dingle’s work, because he would first control the selection via a riffle pass, which would establish the riffling action later used to justify the secret replacement of the card atop the deck. All o f that having been said for the record, I typically leave out this exotica, because among other reasons I often do the trick without a table. So rather than change my procedure, I always use the traditional if admittedly problem  atic turning down of the double in order to switch the indifferent card for the selection. The misdirection I use to min imiz e the flaw in this approach will be described in the context of my script. For sake o f completion, i f I do not have a table available— often the case in cocktail parties where I nevertheless frequently utilize this trick— I will gener ally place the indifferent card standing in m y handk erchief pocket. I insert the card on an angle, w ith one corner downward into the top o f the pocket, so that most o f the card remains in view. I have also, on occasion , reached out and placed the card und er the left lapel of the jacket of a man standing to my immediate right. This is difficult to do without drawing undue focus on the card, but it does have a fun beat o f unex pected involvement. I f you are under 4 0 , 1 do not suggest you attempt this on anyone but a pe er— who will likely promptly reach for the card anyway. This is a strategy for use by middle-aged men on other middle-aged or older men. Ignore this caution at your peril. To complete this technical description, I will mention that this is the first trick that I teach to my students, not only for the already stated features o f the trick, but also because it serves as a pedagogical tool by which to instruct the student in card controls, the double-lift, and the palm. For our purposes here it must suffice to say that my students learn to perform the trick utilizing the Vernon double undercut; the Strike or Hit double lift; and the Vernon Topping-the-Deck palm. In my own personal use I generally rely on, respectively, a riffle shift; a stud turnover lift (i.e. Martin Nash’s Knockout double lift); and the same Vernon top palm I teach my students.

The Presentation "I’ve Got a Surprise for You” is a blank canvas on which a broad range of presentational strategies might be painted. In discussing possible presenta tions, I demonstrate an array of such possibilities to my students, some of wh ich I will eventually provide here. But I be gin with a performance o f my own working approach, and so shall I do so here.

A Hell of a Trick by Jamy Ian Swiss Int—Private Party— Evening Jamy strolls up to a group of people having a good time. After introducing himself, he spreads a deck of cards for Eve. Jamy Take one for yourself, please. Do please try to reme mber it. Eve takes a card—she gets the Three of Clubs. Her card is returned to the pack. Jamy Now, with your card somewhere in th e midst of the pack, give it a little rub, try and make it rise... to the top of the deck. One of Eve’s male friend s m akes a do ub le- en ten dr e remark. Jamy (aside, to Eve) They ’re making up their own jokes. Jamy turns over the top card. It’s the Jack of Hearts. Jamy Is your card the Jack of Hearts? Eve No. Jamy (to the audience) Well, don’t look at me, she rubbed it. (to Eve) Well, if it wasn’t the Jack of Hearts, what was it? Name your card out loud. Eve The Three of Clubs.

Jamy Really? Th at’s inte restin g. Because I always keep this extra card right here in my pocket... Jamy removes a card from his pocket and displays it, back to the audience. Jamy It’s not the Three of Clubs, it’s just an extra card. That would have been a hell of a trick! But didn’t you already tell me your card wasn’t the Jack of Hearts? Jamy shows the card in his hand—it’s the Jack of Hearts! Jamy Well then that can only mean this... (snaps his fingers) ...must be your Three of Clubs! Jamy turns over the card on the table—it’s the Three of Clubs.

The End


Notes on A Hell of a Trick The End. Simple, right? Well, not really. Perhaps deceptively sim ple is more like it. And this, at last, is what we are really here to talk about. And so what follows is a detailed analy sis of the purposes these few lines of script serve, accompanied by further details of action, blocking, and technique where necessary. So, let’s try again: To begin, the card is selected, noted, and returned, while I banter with the audience and provide appropriate commentary and conversation. I don’t re ally wish to provide all the details o f this here, but it is very important that you not fall into the trap of allowing nothing to happen until the card has been, in an almost single word of magic jargon, freely-selected-noted-returned-tothe-pack-controlled-to-the-top-by-your-favorite-method. The performance can not wait to begin at this terribly late juncture. As Eugene Burger has said, “ Presentation is the elimination o f non-mo ments,” and am ong the most im  portant non-moments that must be eliminated are those at the beginning of a performance. These required procedural steps and sleight-of-hand process e s— selection, control, etc.— mu st be exploited as opportunities, not avoided as i f they were n ecessary evils. In other words, you do not want to merely say, “Pick a card. Look at it. Put it back.” These steps are what you need to accomplish, but you m ust make the process part o f the show, and you m ust make that show your own. An d so we rejoin the action once the card has not only been returned to the pack, but has also been controlled, with sufficient misdirection being utilized throughout. “Now, with your card somewhere in the midst of the pack, give it a little rub and try and make it rise to the top.” If there is a female present, that instruction is directed at her. I will some times hit the word “rise” just a smidgen harder than normal conversational delivery. This is to provide potential fodder for the spectators to make their own gently double-entendre joke, having to do with the juxtaposition of “rub” and “rise.” Lest this offend your delicate sensibilities, let me quickly add that I generally dislike ribald humor in the context of close-up magic. We have enough problems trying to raise the perception of magic’s standing, and tak ing out two sponge balls and stating that “I have two balls” is in my estimation an agonizingly perfect example o f win ning the battle and losin g the war. With jokes such as these, you clearly inform the audience that neither you nor any thing you are about to do is to be taken in the slightest bit seriously, not on any conceivable level. You also demonstrate the level to which you will stoop, and

your accompanying desperation in doing so, in order to get a laugh. You are both a bad wizard and a bad man. You are, in short, pathetic. However, when I drop this bit of fodder of “rub” and “rise” into the fray, I do so apparently innocently. I do not leer and I do not acknowledge that I have intended anything. I am just as happy i f the bait is not taken. But if the bait is taken and someone makes a joke, I have at least provided the oppor tunity for people to get involved in what is happening, to become part of the play, and indeed to become playfully part of the play. The reality is that people enjoy sophisticated banter that incorporates subtle sexual double entendre; this was part o f the essenc e o f the late Johnny Carson’s great skill. I will often distance myself slightly from the process, however, especially if their joking is too heavy-handed for my own tastes; I might turn to the woman and with a slightly puzzled and apologetic air offer that “They’re making up their own joke s.” This too should be done breezily, lest one come o ff as a snob. Note that because I underplay this so much, often there is no reaction, at which point I immediately com pliment the wom an on her rubbing style, albeit tongue in cheek. “Oh, you’re a natural!” Other possible responses here might include “Oh, you’ve done this before,” or “Have you been in show business all yo ur life?” All in good fun, all with a light touch. Most importantly, as Eugene Burger says, by having a script I have the freedom to depart from it. By knowing that script (and thoroughly mastering the technical requirements of the trick as well), I can be “in the m om ent,” actively engaged with the audience and the performance, rather than be distracted by thinking about what I have to do or say next. Thus w hen som ething unexpected occurs, be it a mistake on the one hand, or more likely, some remark from an audience member, I can bring my full attention to bear on responding, ad-libbing— com mu nicating!— all the while know ing that I can return to the script at any time. The script is an en  gine that is purring on the side o f the road, as I step from the vehicle to admire the unexpected passing sights. At any moment I can return to the vehicle, which remains on the path that w ill take me home. One more note on this phase: Note that I say I am going to “try” to make the card rise to the top. This gently lowers the expectations so that when I next turn up the top card to reveal an indifferent card, the level o f imp lied failure is somewhat minim ized. I do choose to play this beat as a mistak e— but I don’t want it to seem like a big one. It’s a mistake that I’m willing to accept, in es  sence. I f you put too big a big sell on this — “Your card and your card only shall immediately rise to the top o f the pack!” — then the failure will be heightened. But unless you can play that failure for comedy it could very well backfire on you, especially i f this is an opening effect. You don’t really want to start out

by portraying you rself as an incompetent. Some au die nc es — especially the

social audience o f an amateur mag ician — might pounce on this and make it difficult to proceed to the ending. And this may be a reason to consider not playing it as a mistake at all. Yet another benefit of having a script is that it en ables you to maintain a rhythm, a sense of pace, that implies, without saying so and without rushing, that you are on a m issi on — you have someplace to go, a target. Something is happening, and this is simply a moment along the path. All this can help you maintain momentum, and prevent the audience from seizing attention or otherwise getting in the way o f your bringing the performance to a conclusion. And so: I n ow execute a double lift and appear to turn over the top card. "Is your card the Jack o f Hearts?” The spectator replies in the negative. If no fe  male is p resent and I previously rubbed the top of the deck myself, I now say: "You don’t have to make a big deal out of it, it’s just a card trick.” In general I do not believe in this kind of "just a card trick” deprecation, but in the case of an opening trick it’s often useful to lower expectations and above all let the audience know that you don’t take yourself too seriously, which is one of the traits the public finds most annoying about magicians. I f a female spectator rubbed the card, I look at the m an who chose the card and say, "Don’t look at me, she rubbed it.” Again this must be very light-hearted, but i f delivered with a deft verbal touch all will share in the ensuing laugh, including the woman. Avoid any sense of the joke being at her expense. But please manage to achieve this messag e in the tone o f your delivery, and not by appending the dreaded phrase, "Just kidding.” I hereby solemnly request that you take y our "Just kidding” and put it where the sun don’t shine. Please have the courage o f your artistic convictions to mean what you say. Failing that: Get out of show biz. The sooner the better. I’m not kidding. Get out. Now. The real purpose o f making a light joke after displaying the indifferent card is to provide cover for the awful but imminent moment of needing to turn down the double before dealing off the top card. I hope you will consider for a moment just how bad, albeit more or less necessary, this action actually is. If that was a single card in your hand that you now wished to table, you would do so directly and without interruption. You might table it face-up, you might even table it face-down, but one thing you certainly would not do is turn the card completely down onto the deck, and then in a second step finally get around to dealing it to the table. This deeply illogical action may not be consciously noticed by your spectator, but it may well register as one o f those contrived, unnatural, "something-is-not-quite-right” moments that may trig ger their unconscious alarms.


There are a number of ways to improve the situation, and whenever pos sible I like to use double lift switch-outs that minimize the sense of turning the card down. Juan Tamariz has offered one excellent solution (actually an independent reinvention of a move of Frederick Braue); many others can be found sprinkled amid the literature, and I have even published one of my own approaches. [Pete Note: Jamy’s “Push-Change Double-Lift Switchout” is in Theories III; for more on this subject see Jamy’s essay “A Double-Lift Dis sertation” in Theories II.] But with or without such elegant attempts at overcoming the fundamental flaw o f this step, the best approach is to provide som e additional misdirection so that the somewhat unnatural and less than ideal procedure can “hide in plain sight” and thus be rendered psychologically invisible. And one excellent way to achieve that end is to get the spectator to laugh, even mildly, at the ap propriate moment. So, the laugh having been achieved one way or the other (meaning whether or not there is a female present), the card has been switched and dealt to the table. You want to deal the card somewhere within your physical and psycho logical territory. I f you deal it too far from yo ur self and therefore too close to the audience, the spectator won’t forget about it and may in fact begin to wonder if perhaps it is going to somehow turn into his selection. Ho wever if you are overly protective and deal it too close to yourself, the action may also appear suspicious. Above all, do not watch the hand, and make the dealing action casual. My own preference on the moment of delivering my line is to simp ly thumb the card off onto the table without involving the use o f the other hand. This renders the action very small and it tends to slide by the spectator’s consciousness without taking hold. However, rather than sim ply deal the card to the table and conclude the action there, I continue to move the left hand, turning the action into a gesture that accompanies the line. “Hey, you don’t have to make a big deal out of it, it’s just a card trick,” ending with both h ands slightly raised, as if in a shrug. Thus the action of dealing the card to the table is even further masked, since the body movement becomes part of and morphs into something else entirely. Once the spectator replies in the negative, I turn the deck faces toward my se lf and begin to spread through the cards, as I immediately ask, “Well, i f it wasn ’t the Jack o f Hearts, what was it? Name your card out lo ud .” Th e reasons for this action and question are multifold. First, I want to convince the audi ence that my first “mistake” was genuine, and that I am not play-acting. The more quickly they are convinced o f this the less likely they are to prematurely return their attention to the tabled card. Also, the longer they are convinced of

this the more likely they will be to believe that the card I am about to produce from my pocket is actually their selection. Convincing the audience that you have actually made a mistake is an acting challenge that many magicians are not up to. to. Typically non-actors non-actors will try to to talk their way thro ugh the problem in in  stead of act their way through it: “Really? It’s not your card? Oh, dear. Oh, my. What shall sh all we do?” do ?” Perhap Per hapss this thi s exam ex ampl plee is exagge exa ggerate rated, d, but not by much. mu ch. It is far m ore convincing to say less and act act mo re— re — to reac reactt emotionally emotionally rather than emotively. Or to say something that is not so obvious, something that appears on the face of it to be unexpected. For example, in a “Dunbury Delusion” type of sucker effect, when the magician finally asks the spectator to name their card, and the spectator names the card that has already been shown, apparently in error, and subsequently dealt to the table, the magician might respond by saying, “Really? Is that your card? Your card was the Queen of Hearts?” When I first tried to face this problem in my 20s, I came up with a different approach, app roach, nam ely to challenge the spectator unexpectedly. unexpectedly. Without hesitation I would immediately attempt to correct him: “No, the card you just selected for this trick!” The spectator would now insist that the card he had named was indeed the card he had selected for this trick, but by correcting him somewhat harshly it never occurred to to him that I migh t be bluffing. bluffing. On this this subject of the the convincing acting out out of o f mistakes, I was inspired to solve the “Dunbury Delusion” problem as I did after seeing a brilliant lecture and memorable performance by the magician Howard Flint. Flint performed a version of the Terry Seabrooke “Burned Bill in Wallet” on stage, and I have never forgotten what he did at a critical moment in the routine. In most per formers’ hands (Mr. Seabrooke notably excepted), when the spectator is in structed structed to open the envelope that he has selected selected and that is supposed suppos ed to con con  tain his money, and while the remaining envelopes are burning up in flame, the performe r is faced with the acting acting challenge o f how to react when he sees the spectator spectator withdraw a piece o f worthless paper fro m his envelope envelope.. Here again, many magicians attempt to talk themselves through the moment, and in drearily unsuccessful fashion. Howard Flint took a radically different ap proach. He froze, staring at the paper for an uncomfortable moment. Silently, he turned and dove toward the charred remains of the other envelopes for a moment. And then, he did the the darnedest thing: He bega n to laugh uncontrol lably. The audience recognized this as the kind of nervous and inappropri ate laughter that people often find themselves involuntarily afflicted with in situations in which they cannot escape from an unpleasant or embarrassing mistake. It was a stunning choice and utterly convincing, and 30 years hence, more or less, I still vividly recall it.

SCRIPTIN SCRIPTING G MAGIC MAGIC | 39?

And An d so, I turn tur n the deck dec k face up and begin beg in to fan through thr ough the cards car ds,, askin as king, g, “Well, if it wasn’t the Jack of Hearts, what was it? Name your card out loud.” The act act o f searching through the pack for for a mom m oment ent adds adds further conviction to to the implied claim that a mistake has been made. The moment serves no less than four additional purposes as well. The first is that it enables me to repeat aloud the name o f the mistak en card for what is now a second time. Th is will help establish clarity of plot for the surprises yet to come. The second is that the question provides excellent misdirection for the act of palming the top card o f the pack. pack. The Th e third is that by spreading sprea ding the deck, deck, the deck will be in left in an un-squared condition, thus justifying the squaring-up action inherent in the Vernon top top palm (and (and avoiding the dreaded contrivance contrivance o f squaring squ aring an already neatly squared deck). And finally, in repeating this trick many times in the course o f a night, I need only to glance at the face face o f the top top card o f the pack to remind me o f the indifferent card’s identi identity, ty, just in case. Since I never like diving div ing to a pocket the instant I’ve palm ed a card, I add an an  other bit bit o f misdirection h ere to assist me in delaying a br ief mom ent. Produc ing a palmed card from the pocket pocket is far more deceptive deceptive if you provide su ch a pause, because because the the pause demonstrates demonstrates and comm comm unicates unicates co nfidence— con fidence that the card is already there and waiting for you. The effect is not that you yo u are cleverly clev erly snea sn eaki king ng the th e card car d into int o the t he pocket poc ket an instan ins tantt befor be fore, e, but bu t rath r ather er that the card is restfully waiting there for you. Therefore anytime I am about to produce produ ce a card from the pocket, pocket, I begin to reach toward the pocket, pocket, but then whe w hen n the hand ha nd is near ne ar I paus pa usee for a m om ent, en t, glanc gla ncee at the t he pocket, pocke t, look lo ok and direct a small remark at the audience, and then continue on to retrieve the card. card. Th is confidence that that the card is there waiting for you is very con vincing and aids in the depth of conviction and deception. Further additions can also be made to this moment of deception. I some times use a dodge shown to me by Michael Skinner. Michael would reach into a pocket pocket and, leaving the palmed card behind, calmly remove som e other other object object that that was apparently apparently resting in the way o f the card — a money mone y clip, a set of keys perhaps. Without commenting at all on this action, he would briefly transfer tran sfer the object to his other hand, return to the pocket and retrieve the card, show it, table it, and then return the object to the pocket, all while remaining focused on the card and whatever commentary he was delivering. This is a subtle and brilliantly devious idea. Michael was a master mast er at “holding out” a palmed card, card, som etimes for lengths of time that, if you were a fellow mage following the action, could be utterly madd ening. It was probably his example that that inspired me to discover this next dodge which is a great personal favorite. Note that in the script I say, “Name

your you r card out loud." As I say the last two words, word s, I illustra illu strate te by gestu ges turin ring g with my right right hand in the the air air, a few few inches in front o f my mou m ou th— th — gesturing gestu ring twice twice for emphasis on the two words of “out loud” with the back of the hand toward the audience. This is an utterly natural and convincing gesture which greatly misdirects any attent attention ion away from the palming and gesturing h and — a per fect case of hiding in plain sight. It pleases me every time I use it, and I use it often. The spectator now names his selection. “The Three of Clubs.” I respond: “Really? That's interesting. Because I always keep this extra card here in my pocket...” H ere is where m y approach to the acting changes cha nges completel completely. y. Rather than convincing the audience of my sincerity, I now intend to convince them o f my insincerit insincerity. y. By seeming less sincere h ere — an apparently failed failed attempt attempt to be conv incing— incin g— the specta spectator tor is is m ore likely to “get “get ahead o f me” and sus  pect that the card I am about to produce from my pocket is not merely some random “extra card,” but rather in fact their very selection. Oftentimes the spectator will interrupt as I am reaching into my pocket, insisting “That’s go ing to be my card.” Whether or not they do, my next comment is the same. I with wi thdra draw w the card from fro m the pocket poc ket as I fini fi nish sh saying say ing,, “ Beca Be caus usee I always alwa ys keep kee p this extra card in my pocket,” and I do not look at the card until that sentence is complete. Once it is, and the card is comfortably in view, face toward me and away from fr om the spectators, spectators, I now look loo k directly directly at its its face for the first time. The next two sentences are delivered deadpan: “It's not the Three of Clubs, it's just an extra card. But that would have been a hell of a trick.” The dead pan delivery, as if I’m trying to be accommodating, is what makes the second phrase ironically humorou s. I f the spectator spectator has spoken and claimed that that the card from the pocket is in fact going to be their card, the line becomes even more amusing. Note that I have not yet shared the identity of this card with the audience. The previous beat having been completed, we proceed to the next. I ask, “But didn't didn't you already tell tell me your card was not the the Jack o f Hearts,” whereup on I turn the card to face the spectators. spectators. By delaying the revelation o f this card I have created a moment of anticipation, which helps maintain focus and prevents the audience from actually getting ahead of me and returning their attention to the card on the table. I have also now named this card aloud for the third and final time. When this card is displayed I would hate to waste the lovely plotting and allow the spectator to think it was merely any indifferent card, rather than the one that that apparently rests on the table. table. Hence Hen ce I have repeatedly conditioned them to recognize this card when the opportunity arises. At this th is point poi nt one m ust us t deal with wi th the indi in diffe fferen rentt card. I reco re comm mm end en d you do

SCRIPTING SCRIPTING MAGIC | 399

not drop it on the table. To do so may clutter the performance space, and may also take the clean transformation that is about to be revealed and sully it with unwarranted suspicion based on the proximity of the two cards. Better to stay away. Worse still, you certainly would not want to use the indifferent card as a tool with which whic h to flip over the tabled card! card! So I now simply simp ly drop this card c ard face up on top of the deck. By leaving it there with its face in view, I allow for the possibility that the spectator may look back to it in a moment as a reference point to clarify any potential confusion. As the spectato spec tators rs abso ab sorb rb the sign si gnifi ifica canc ncee o f the identity iden tity o f the t he card ca rd from fr om pocket, pocket, they try try to to make sense o f the turn o f events. Give them a breath to do so. Use the anticipated surprise: In this case, allow the audience to think: "If the card in his hand is is the Jack of Hearts— that that card card was was on the the table— then what wh at is on the table? M ight igh t it be m y card? But that's th at's impo im possi ssibl ble. e. But Bu t it m akes ak es perfect sense now, now, so so it m ust be there there.. That’s not just impo im po ssib le— it’s incred ible!” And A nd so it is no now w tim t imee to bar b arre rell towa t oward rd the t he fin fi n ish is h line, lin e, whic wh ich h I hop h opee to reach rea ch a momen t before before the spectat spectator or has has completely gott gotten en ahead ahead o f m e— I don't don't want wa nt them th em divin div ing g for fo r the t he card ca rd and spoi sp oilin ling g m y well w ell-ti -time med d and an d ch chor oreo eogr grap aphe hed d display. display. As I see the light ligh t o f revelation begin beg in to pass pa ss across acr oss the spectator’s spectato r’s eyes, I begin to calmly reach toward the tabled card, whereupon I snap my fingers over it it in a gesture o f both magic and emphasis: emp hasis: "Well "Well then that that can only mea n that this... (snap!) ...must be your Three of Clubs!” I turn over the card and reveal the selection. The End. Simple, right?

Looking Back This simple script contains all o f about eight discrete verbal verbal beats. beats. Its appar ent simplicity is deceptive in more w ays than one, and its complexity is readily overlooked, by both magicians and audiences alike. This is because the script is not narratively complex. There is no elaborate narrative plot, no explicit story line, no obvious metaphor. The script is fundamentally straightforward, free o f wasted verbal flourish flourish es or other encumbranc e. On the face o f it this this script falls under un der the head ing o f descriptive descriptive patter patter;; the kind o f potentially potentially dreary ac companiment that (as Tony Giorgio has pointed out) imitates the language of cooking shows: Now I do this, now I do that. In magic this is exceedingly bad form, since all the while the audience can clearly see what is being done and it therefore requires no further description. But in fact this script is no mere accompaniment, but rather accompaniment with purpose: it serves to keep the action moving; to subtly imply that there is a direction underfoot, a goal

toward which we are headed (which helps to maintain command and control

as well we ll as rhythm and flow); to provide clarity by pointing up key sign posts along the path. The script adds cover to every sleight, and generally serves all the operative operative needs nee ds at once, once, includin inc luding g both the the trick’s entertainm en tertainm ent value and its deceptiveness. That’s an awful lot of work for that little eight-beat script to do — but 25 years o f action action in the trenches indicates it is well up to the the task. task.

A Minute in Time It probably takes me less than one minute to perform my working presen tation of “I’ve Got a Surprise for You.” Sometimes it might take a bit longer depending on ad-libs and other byplay, but much more than a minute is prob ably unusual. It will have taken you much longer than that to read this, and it has taken me longer still still to to write write it. it. It will likely likely require even m ore tim e— in thought, thought, in writing, in experimenting and rewriting and perfor pe rfor m ing — to put put any of it to use. But I am con fident— based on my ow n work, and that that of the the many students and professionals I have worked on scripts with and written scripts scripts for over the the ye ars — that that the the process is m eanin gful, and the the results results are worth wo rth it. It m ay only onl y take a m inut in utee to perfo pe rform rm,, but bu t ther th ere’ e’ss a lot you yo u can ac complish comp lish in that minute i f you care en ough to do so. so.

Alter Al terna nativ tives es I have provided provided and explained the the presentation I use for “ I’ve Got a Surprise for You.” But there are alternatives, alternatives, and o f course the possibilities are endless. Here is an alternative which I created in the early 1990s, inspired by an idea from a student who was trying (albeit not very successfully) to talk about the senses as a presentation for this trick. In response, I ad-libbed this for him, and then liked it enough to use it m ysel ys elff for a time.

The Five Senses by Jamy Ian Swiss Int— Int— Privat Privatee Party— Evening Jamy has Alex select a card—the Three of Clubs—which is lost in the deck. Jamy It’ It’s your job to pick a card and rem em ber it. It’s my job as a magician to use my magical powers to find it. But of course we know that I’m actually limited to the same five senses we all have in order to find your card. Even then, if you think abou t it — I do n ’t know why you would, bu b u t if yo u d i d — it m ig h t o c c u r to yo you u that I can’t really use all five senses. After all, if I was to simply look for your card... Jamy demonstrates by turning the deck face-up and quickly spread ing a few cards. Jamy ...well, that’s not very mysterious or impressive. And if I was to ... Jamy sniffs the deck. Jamy ...rely upon the sense of smell to find your card, well, that might not be polite in mixed company. That means I’m limited to the three remaining senses. So, let’s start with the audio sense. Jamy brings the deck to his ear and riffles the end once. Jamy Sounds like ... the Jack of Hearts. Is your card the Jack of Hearts? No? Hmm. On to the next sense! Jamy begins to lick his lips and then flicks the tip of his

t o n g u e , a s i f t a s t in i n g s o m e t h i n g , t h e n r a i s e s th t h e d e c k t o h is is mouth and licks the top card.

Jamy Tastes like ... tastes like the Jack of Hearts. You’re sure your card wasn’t the Jack of Hearts? Jamy shows the top card—it’s the Jack of Hearts. Jamy Well, at least it tasted right. Jamy deals the Jack of Hearts face down onto the table. Jamy Let’s Let’s see, wh at ’s left? Oh, Oh, th e s ense en se of touch. Jamy puts the deck down and start to pat around his torso and then pockets. Jamy Hmm... I feel something ... Jamy feels something in his right pants pocket. Jamy ...feels like a card ... feels like ... Jamy re mo ves the card fro m his pocket; i t’s t’s the Jack of Hearts. Hearts. Jamy ... the Jack of Hearts! That means I’m all out of senses, so I’ll have to rely on my sixth sense to find your card. Concentrate on your card ... it’s a red card ... it’s a heart ... it’s a picture card ... it’s the Three of Clubs. Is that correct? Alex Yes!

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Jamy But of course, you and I both know there’s no such thing as a sixth sense. I’m just the magician, and I had your card all along. Jamy turns over the Jack of Hearts he put down previously. It has changed into the Three of Clubs.

The End

Notes on The Five Senses This is a playful and inherently funny presentation that is entertaining and garners mild m ild laughs laugh s without trying too too hard. (It should be clarified— clarifie d— I don’t actually lick the card.) Note that the final gag of apparently describing the wron wr ong g card car d and then the n sudde sud denly nly correc cor rectly tly n am ing in g the select sel ection ion belon be longs gs to Tom Mullica. It also also adds an additional additional effect, effect, in that that you nam e the card— appar ently ently divining i t— before revealing it physical physically. ly. This is readily accomplished by sighting and rem emb ering the identities identities o f the top top two cards o f the pack pack as you initia ini tially lly sprea sp read d thr t hrou ough gh the deck dec k und u nd er cover cov er o f the comm co mm ent, en t, “After Af ter all, i f I was to simply simpl y look for your card... ca rd...”” What I particularly enjoy about this this script is tha thatt it it gives gives me an opportunity— in the the penultimate lin e— to reveal reveal a bit o f my person al point o f view view.. I f magic is to be an art, art, that that means m eans it must mu st serve as a vehicle for self-expression. And in order to express one’s self, one must have something to express. I f you want to be an interesting magician, you m ust first become an interesting person.

Vic Suss Su ssm m an Over the years I’ve had many students write scripts for “I’ve Got a Surprise for You.” My student and friend Dimis Michaelides presents the trick as a “classical card trick,” explaining along the way all the requirements of such a classic, i.e., the selection, the return, the sh uffling, the location of o f the selec tion, and so on. O f course, along alon g the way there are a few unexpected un expected surprises, surpris es, but eventually our hero wins out over adversity. One of o f the greatest friends friends I’ve ever had, the late Vic Sussm Su ssm an, an , had a delight fully funny version o f “I’ve Got a Surp rise for You.” Vic was a superb writer writer by profession — he had grea greatt influence influence on my own writing as as we ll— and he cre cre ated terrific original scripts for any trick he used regularly. One of the issues one needs to decide on in “I’ve Got a Surprise for You” is what is happening whe w hen n you y ou reveal rev eal the indi in diffe ffere rent nt card car d atop at op the th e deck. Is it a card car d you yo u deliberat delib erately ely expect to be indifferent, and are merely calling attention to for some sort of illustrative purpose? Or is it an outright mistake? And if it is a mistake, is a small mistake, or a big mistake? In my working routine, I treat it as a mistake, but a small one. “You don’t have to make a big deal out of it.” Vic, Vic, on the other hand, treated it as a big mistake, and exacted much self-deprecating humor from that fact. fact.

Should We Order a Pizza? by Vic Sussman Int—Living Room— Evening Vic has Alex select a card—the Three of Clubs—which is then lost in the deck. Vic When I snap my fingers, your card will now magically appear at the top of the deck! Vic turn s over the top card of the d ec k —i t’s the Jack of Hearts. Vic Is that your card? Alex No. Vic Hmm. Needs work. Vic deals the Jack of Hearts to the table, then turns the deck face up and looks through the cards. He stops at a card and offers it to Alex. Vic Five of Hearts? Alex No. Vic spreads further and stops at a different card. Vic Six of Clubs. Alex No. Vic spreads the deck wide.

Vic A n y o f t h e s e l o o k f a m i l ia r t o y ou ?

Alex starts laughing, and Vic keeps spreading. Vic Are you in a hurry? Do you have time? Are you double-parked? Should we order a piz za? Suddenly Vic has an inspiration. Vic Not to worry! With great anticipation and confidence Vic reaches into his pocket, dra mati call y pu lling out a card. His ey es gl eaming with optimism, he looks at the face of the card—and his face falls. Vic Um ... have I mentioned that I’m a veteran? Alex laughs again. Vic shows the card in his hand—it’s the Jack of Hearts. He tur ns over the card on th e table — it has ch ange d into Alex’s Three of Clubs.

The End


Notes on Should We Order a Pizza? I always loved this script, and now that my friend Vic Sussman has sadly left us, all too soon, I offer his delightful lines that they may continue to live and, i f you will forgive the sentime nt, bring laughter to the world.

Sean O'Neill Another frien d and form er student o f mine was the late Sean O’ Neill, who made his living as a psychotherapist. He was probably the first completely beginning student that I had ever taught. His deep understanding o f hu man psychology was a potent element in his magic. Sean’s approach to Fechter’s “I’ve Got a Surprise for You” was truly unique. In his very first lesson, I per form ed the trick for him. By the second lesson, Sean responded with the basic idea behind this presentation. Unfortunately, his version required the m astery o f several additional sleights, including a way to secretly cull five specific cards to the top of the deck, along with a good false cut to use as a revelation. He mastered a num ber o f other tricks before this project was complete, but it was indeed worth the wait. While I have pointed out that I generally teach this trick as an opener, in Sean’s case, the theatrical premise is so powerful that the trick became a solid closer in his hands.

What it Takes to Be Happy by Sean O’Neill Int Living —

Room Day —

Sean sits across from Alex. Sean Do you want to be happy? Most of us try very hard, through our lifetimes, to find out how to do that. Sometimes we get wrong ideas about what causes happiness. Sean shuffles the cards, then gives the cards a slick-looking cut. He turns over the card he cut to—it’s the King of Spades. Sean We think, “If I were king! If I were po we rful, and had contr ol over other people—that would ma ke me ha ppy. But we know that it can be lonely at the top. Sean puts the card down on the table. Then he does another quick cut and turns over the Queen of Spades. Sean Or, if I only had a relationship, that would solve my problems. But relationships don’t always work out; if it were that easy, I wouldn’t make a living. Sean takes the deck and cuts to the Jack of Spades. Sean Or perhaps having a child—that would fulfill me and make my life complete. But kids don’t always work out exactly the way we hope they will, do they? Sam cuts to the Ten of Spades. Sean If I had ten friends—if I were part of a group, that would make me feel good.


But you know how it feels to be alone in a crowd, don’t you? One last cut finds the Ace of Spades. Sean If I were Number One—the best at something, a win ner —t ha t’s the ticket to happiness! But even success has its prices, d o esn’t it? Sean picks up all the cards on the table and adds this last card. Sean These are all ways that people hope that life will deal them a winning hand. Sean turns the five cards face up: a royal flush in Spades. Sean And maybe that’s what happiness really is, anyway. But you need to decide for yourself. Sean returns the royal flush to the deck, which he spreads face down on the table. Sean I would like you to take what will make you happy. Alex takes a card—the Three of Clubs. Sean Will that card make you happy? Well, ple as e share your happiness wit h your friends: Show the card around. Fine. Now ju st put it back in th e deck, please. Alex puts the card back in the deck, which Sean shuffles. Sean It’s one thing to know what will make us happy, and quite another to know how to go about getting it. What we want is to get

in touch with what will make you happy. So let’s get in touch! How about just touching the top card here — that would make me happy. Alex touches the card and Sean shows it—it’s the Ten of Hearts. Sean So this is your card, the Ten of Hearts? No? Are you sure? Sean puts the Ten of Hearts down on the table in front of Alex. Sean Psychotherapists, you know, are sometimes expected to be able to pull happiness out of our pockets. Sean reaches into his pocket and pulls out a playing card. Sean But you said your card wasn’t the Ten of Hearts, didn’t you? Sean shows the ca rd —it’s the sa me Ten of Hearts he jus t p ut on the table. Sean What was it? Name your card out loud. Alex The Three of Clubs. Sean Well, maybe you had what you need to be happy all along, but like most of us... Sean turns over the card in front of Alex. It’s the Three of Clubs. Sean ...you just didn’t know it.

The End


Notes on What it Takes to Be Happy Method Sean’s version requ ires som e br ief technical preparation. In advance o f the trick, secretly cull the King, Queen, Jack, Ten and Ace of Spades to the top of the deck. Sean then utilized Frank Thompson’s F.T. False Cut (from Super Subtle Card Miracles by Frank Garcia) for the revelation of the five cards, each o f wh ich in turn is dealt face down to the table after delivering the com m en tary associated with each one. By the time all five cards have been dealt to the table, the audience will often forget that the cards actually comprise a royal flush, and will smile with recognition when the five cards are then displayed as a poker hand.

Back to Pete (amy's essay covers a great deal of ground; it really does touch on virtually every consideration related to scripting magic, from the highest conception to the smallest practical detail. And Jamy is one o f precious few writers in m agic who, even if you disagree with him, in deciding that you disagree you become a more thoughtful magician. I believe that is Jamy’s ultimate goal. It is cer tainly my goal in writing this book.

References “I’ve Got a Surprise for You” is in Magician Nitely: the Magic of Eddie Fechter by Jerry Mentzer and is reprinted in Fechter: The Magic of Eddie Fechter. David Williamson’s “Fifty-One Cards to Pocket” is from Williamson's Wonders by Richard Kaufman, Kaufman and Greenberg, 1989. Don England actually was the first to end a Repeat Card-to-Pocket routine by vanishing the deck; see “Phase 51” in Don England's T.K.O.s: Technical Knock Outs by John Mendoza. However, the marvelously effective gradual reproduction of the cards from the pocket belongs to Williamson. Francis Carlyle’s “Homing Card” is in Stars of Magic, Lou Tannen, 1961, and The Magic of Francis Carlyle by Roger Pierre, Nightmare Alley Productions, 1975Derek Dingle’s “Alpha Toss” appeared in Richard's Almanac, Volume One,

Number One, September 1982. Poetics by Aristotle, 350 B.C.E. If you Google “Poetics Aristotle” you’ll find dozens o f free online editions. Roberto Giobbi’s “Homing Card Plus” is in Card College> Volume Two, Her metic Press, 1996. Bill Nagler’s discussion of Elmsley’s anticipated surprise theory first ap peared in The Magic Circular, the journal o f the Magic Circle, in a series o f columns Nagler wrote from September 1974 through June 1977, and can now be found in his 2003 booklet, It's Not Fun to be Fooled. Jamy’ s Push-Ch ange Double-Lift Switchout is in Theories III, 1985 — 2003. Jamy’ s essay “A Double-Lift Dissertation” is in Theories II, 1985 — 2003. Sean O’Neill’s script “What it Takes to Be Happy” was first published in Genii magazine, May, 1994 (the second issue with Jamy on the cover). Jamy’ s essay “Good Trick, Bad Trick” is in Shattering Illusions: Essays on the Ethics, History, and Presentation o f Magic, Hermetic Press, 2002. For Jamy’s stuff, go to www.jamyiansw iss.com.

Titles and Sentences

I

have over the years heard some great feedback from magicians who read something I wrote and started writing scripts for their effects. The responses are pretty consistent: 1) It’s making their magic a lot better

than they thought it would; and 2) It’s work.

I wish I could tell you that they were half wrong — that scriptwriting is re

ally easy once you learn this technique or buy that software program. But it’s not. It’s worth it, but it’s not going to be a quick fix. It’s not hard like learning the pass, but you’re not going to sit down at your computer and have a pol ished script a few minutes later. However, there are two things you can do that will give you som e o f the ben efits of scripting, without writing a script. After that, if your magic improves and you want more, you can write a whole script. But even if you don’t, you can still make your magic more effective by doing these two simple things. The first is something you can write in a few m inutes: a name.

A Trick By Any Other Nam e My favorite trick name of all time is by Jay Sankey. You start with a strip of three movie tickets, tear one off and have a spectator sign it, then it vanishes and reappears back in the strip, attached between the other two. In essence it’s the 20th-Century Silks trick, with movie tickets. Jay’s name for the trick: 20th Century Fox. Based on the trick names I see, I’m not the only magician who likes wordplay like this. But as great as this title is for a trick, it would be wasted on a lay audience, who’ve never heard o f “20 th Century Silks.” I propose you take every trick in your repertoire and give it a name. Not a name for the trick— a name for your presentation of it. Doesn’t have to be a clever name with Sankeyesque wordplay. Just write down any name that su m  marizes the point o f the presentation. And don’t just think o f it— actually write it down or type it into your computer. You m ay— especially if you are just beginning to script your effects— find this simple process is m ore difficult than it first appears. That’s ok ay— the harder this is, the more it’s helping you. And don’t take this the wrong way, but the harder this is for you, the more you need it. That’s because a m eaningfu l title is a major step down the road toward mak ing your magic clearer to your audience. Once you have a title, you can review the entire presentation fro m that perspective. Does the trick really embody the title? Can the trick be improved to strengthen the title? Often a title will sug gest new avenues for presentation, and also give you new ideas for effects.

Once you have a title, you can make it better— more dramatic, or com pel ling, or humorous, or magical, or whatever is your goal in performing the trick. Then improve the trick to match the new title.

The Ambitious Card I know some magicians present this trick as it is titled: the selected card wants to get ahead in the world. Th is kind o f anthropomorphic story presenta tion usually leaves me cold, but if you like it, you can make it work. If you do, you can ask yourself: What would it mean for a playing card to “get ahead in the world?” Rising to the top of the deck is only one possible answer. I f the card is a lowly spot card, it might mean getting to hang out with royalty. If the card is a Jack, it might mean being promoted to King. Either of these can be dramatized through magic. I prefer to present this as a demonstration of gambling skill, a venerable approach mentioned in Daryl's Ambitious Card Omnibus by Stephen Minch. In this presentation, I'm a gambler who wants to secretly get the card I need to the top of the deck so I can deal it to myself, or sneak it into my hand, etc. So my first title was “A Cheating Move.” I use the Ace o f Spades, which has several advantages. I can eliminate the selection process, which is dead time here. I add a point of interest by explaining that a real gambler would never use the Ace of Spades, because it’s too obvious. Finally the AS is the most dra matic card in the deck, and can be seen from farther away than any other. My next version o f the title was “A N ew Cheating M enace.” I talk about the very latest card sharp technique, which was first seen in Las Vegas just a few months ago and is now taking the world o f the hustler by storm. This d oesn’t require chan ging the underlying effect at all, but it instantly makes the prese n tation more com pelling. It also lets me perform it as a mock expose: “I f you see a guy doing this...” (riffle the deck), “ ...watch out— he m ay be part of a new breed of card shark on the cutting edge of cheating technique.” If an Ambi tious Card script were being written by a reporter on your local news, this is probably the approach you’d end up with. Of course, you could take this same structure and do it tongue-in-cheek, as a parody of sensationalistic media. My final title for this trick is called “The Ultimate Card Sharp’s Weapon.” This is a big improvement on my first title— which would you rather see, “A Cheating Move” or “The Ultimate Card Sharp’s Weapon?” This choice also allows me to discuss the history of cheating moves, som e o f which I can “dem  onstrate” during the early, buildin g phases of my routine. And notice how it casts me as a character in the presentation. But mostly I like it because it finally lead me to a meaningful solution to the


age-old question of how to climax an Ambitious Card routine. The ultimate weapon, I explain, is not to bring the desired card to the top o f the deck, or the bottom, but to any number whatsoever, so that I can deal it to myself without having to cheat during the deal. So I end my Ambitious Card routine with Card At Any Number, which is the perfect climax to this presentation. It may be a coincidence, but after spending years thinking about a good Ambitious Card climax, I came up with this idea one hour after revising the title of my presentation.

One Sentence When Arthur Miller was writing a play, the first thing he w ould do is decide what the play was about. Not just the surface plot, what the play was really about. What did he want to say? He wouldn't start writing the play until he could express its essence in a single sentence. This process might take three or four months. Once he had his sentence, he wrote it on a piece of paper and taped it to his typewriter. So that as he wrote, he would make sure that every single th ing that happened in the play— every line o f dialog, every action, the sets, the props, everything— would communicate, build on, and dramatize that essence. This is a fantastic exercise that can improve any trick you perform. Write down the essence o f your presentation in a single sentence. It shouldn't take three or four months. In fact, a useful idea is to run through your repertoire and write down a single sentence for each trick, but only allow yourself 60 seconds for each one. After a minute you have to move on to the next trick. When you're done, take a look at the list. Th e tricks for wh ich you haven't been able to come up with something in 60 seconds are the ones you may want to work on. Like creating a good name, writing a good one-sentence summary can be surprisingly difficult. All you have to do is look at the convoluted "Effect” de scriptions in so many magic books and magazines to realize how many of the thousands o f existing tricks don't really have a clear effect at all. I f you can't state the effect clearly, how can you make it clear to the audience? Again, once you have your one sentence written down, you can use it to strengthen the trick. Often you'll find aspects o f the handling that essentially contradict your one-sentence summary. And looking at the effect in the ab stract will often suggest new ideas you can apply to the trick. You can also work on improving the sentence. You might have to improve the trick to keep up with the new sentence, but isn't that the point?

Four Ace Example Here's the first draft sentence I started with for the Ace Assembly: Four Aces magically gather in a single pile. Pretty straightforward— you can find this same basic description in a hundred magic books. As soon as I wrote it down I immediately saw a way to improve it. The problem is the word “pile.” What’s a pile? What does a pile have to do with playing cards? So the second draft is: Four Aces magically gather into a single poker hand. What a difference! Now instead o f a meaningless demonstration, I’m telling a story about a poker gam e— one o f the most mea ning ful things you can do with a deck o f cards. But still there’s room for impro vemen t in this updated sentence. It focuses on the props. After all, a poker game is only interesting because of the people playing. So my third draft is “ I cause four Aces to magically gather in my poker hand.” This may seem like a semantic difference, but I assure you it is not. Because now, instead o f showing the cards moving around, I am demonstrat ing my magical ability to move cards around— an ability whose implications go far beyond this simple trick. This change will affect every aspect of my script. It will force me to include the “magical moment” when I exercise my pow er— an essential part of any mag ic trick all too often overlooked. The sentence I’m currently using is this: I beat three legendary magicians in a cheating contest. It’s now a complete story trick about the time I was play ing against three magicians in a game where we competed at cheating each other, and I had to use my best magical powers to win. The script has specific names for each of the other magicians in the game, along with their special brand o f expertise. It tells a complete story which, i f I perform it well, takes the audience into a different world where magic happens that is both meaningful and dramatic. Quite a long way from four Aces gathering into a pile. Even if you never write down a complete script for your tricks, the simple act o f writing a nam e and a single sentence description for each o f your pre sentations will make your magic better. You’ll be better able to look at your magic from the audience’s perspective. You’ll see what aspects of the effect are the most crucial, the most in need o f dramatizing. You may also see which as pects o f the method you should min imize or keep the audience from consider ing. You’ll be able to see additional effects you can use to illustrate, to expand, or to heighten what you’re presenting, or incidental effects which are really a distraction from the real point, so you can eliminate them. And finally, it can really help you take your effects as far as possible from the mundane, propbased puzzles we see so often, into a new world o f infinite possibilities.


An d if you like that, then maybe you’ll want to go all the way, to take all of these aspects of your performance to the highest possible level, by writing a complete script. For now, start with a name and a single sentence, and see where that takes you.

Names After writing the above essay, I decided to m ake a list o f what I thought were good names for trick s— just as a creative exercise. Anything that gives you a new perspective on something can be the spark that triggers a new trick, or presentation, or even move. As you can see there are more than a few names. I don’t doubt some o f these have already been use d as the names o f tricks (I’ve got tricks or presentations for a half-dozen of these names). But again, the point is to stimulate your mind, not to dictate to it.

A Penny for Your Thoughts All the King’s Horses Blank Expression Buck Rogers Bullets Over Broadway Calling Card Card Catalog Caught Red-Handed Coin o f the Realm Color Guard Courting Disaster Don’t Play with Matches Double Down ESP-N Famous Last Words Fleeting Glim pse Fool for Love Fool Me Once Force Majeure Force o f Example Forward Pass Friendship Ring Give ’em Enough Rope Head ’em Off at the Pass Heads or Tails Hip Pocket I Cannot Tell A Lie Ice Cream Float


Index Card Liberty Bell Lucky Guess Mirror Image Mumbo Jumbo No Dice The Turn o f a Friendly Card Over and Out Pack o f Lies Painted From Memory Penny Ante Pipsqueak Point o f No Return Reality Check Riot Act Show and Tell Signed, Sealed, Delivered Suicide Squeeze Suit Yourself Supreme Court Take a Wild Guess Tell Me Something I Don’t Know The Count of Monte Cristo The Cutting Edge Three on a Match To Coin a Phrase Twist o f Fate Wild Flower

The Ace Assembly

Somewhere along the line magicians started to believe that lay audiences aren’t interested in tricks where the Aces assemble into a single pile. I have never understood this. I do this trick for lay audiences and it plays wonderful ly. To me the Ace Assembly is the card-trick equivalent of the Miser's Dream; Assem blin g the Aces in your hand is what you would do if you genuinely had magic powers over playing cards. That is, if you are playing poker. This is the crux o f presenting the Ace As sembly to a lay audience. What does it mean to bring the Aces into the same pile? I f you're playing poker, it mea ns everything. If you're not playing poker, it means nothing. Ass umin g you'd prefer y our tricks to mean everything rather than nothing, the poker game presentation is definitely the way to go. It can be developed in an infinite variety o f ways, and w ill resonate with almost any audience. The idea of a poker-based ace assembly goes back as far as Stanley Collins. Here you'll find two different presentations, both based around poker. The first is impromptu ad the second uses the standard McDonald's double-faced Ace gaffs. Both routines require sleight o f hand; in fact, both have multiple “moves” o f varying levels o f difficulty, so the Notes sections are longer to in clude all the moves. I think these might be the most move-heavy tricks in the book. Don’t get caught up on this. You can easily adapt either of these scripts to any Ace Assembly (most of which, to be fair, have a lot of moves). But try this basic poker idea just once. Hell, do your favorite Assembly, and impro vise a poker game story. Th en tell me lay audiences aren't interested in tricks where the Aces assemble into a single pile.

Slow McCabe Aces The first script follows the sentence from the previous essay: I beat three world-class magicians in a game o f cheating. It uses my handling o f Cy En  field's “Slow-Motion Aces,” from Bruce Elliott's Classic Secrets of Magic, but you should be able to adapt the story to any Ace Assembly. Whether you like my handling or not, it has one strong point that can be added to almost any Ace Assem bly. In most un gaffed Assem blies, the Aces are laid out in the fa miliar face-down T-formation, then three cards are added to each. In this han dling, you put the Aces aside face up, then put three cards in each pile, and then put an Ace into each pile right before you go into the assembly phase. This dramatically reduces the amount of time the Aces spend face down, and makes the handling cleaner, both o f which m ake the mag ic stronger.


Face Assembly The second script takes a different tack and is a somewhat tongue-in-cheek “expose” of a way I can use hypnosis to cheat at poker. This script uses a han dling of the McDonald’s Aces that I created in the early ’90s called “Face As sembly,” because the cards are laid out face up. Instead o f usin g the Ace gaffs for the vanishes, I put them in the receiving packet. This is not unprecedented; Guy Hollingworth’s “Stationery Ace Assembly” (you can use his supremely natural vanish with this routine if you like) has the gaffs in the receiving pack et. Unlike Guy’s routine, here the Aces appear one at a time, in increasingly visual ways.

When Magicians Play Poker by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete sits at the table with Lee, Chris, and Ricky. Pete When magicians play poker, somehow... the dealer always wins. We play a game called Magician’s Poker, and the object is to cheat better than the o ther magicians. This is what it looks like. Lee, Chris, and Ricky, you’ll each be playing the part of famous magicians, which means that you’ll have incredible abilities at sleight of hand and misdirection, but no job or source of income. Pete spreads a deck of cards, removing the Aces. Pete Whoever gets four Aces wins; the rest of the cards might as well be blank. Today, everybody gets three random cards. Pete gives three cards in a pile to the table, in front of Lee. Pete Usually, in Magicians Poker everybody gets four random cards... Pete counts out another three-card pile in front of Chris. Pete But yo u’ve ne ver played. Three cards go in front of Ricky. Pete So tonight you all get three random cards, and... Pete deals one last pile for himself and puts the deck aside.


Pete

.one Ace. Pete picks up the Aces. Pete So we all start off even. 1can’t promise how we’ll end up. Pete slides an Ace under each of the four hands. Pete After d ealing I say “Ed—you r b et. ” Lee, you’re playing Ed Mario, a legendary card magician from Chicago. And after dealing I push your cards toward you, Ed, as if I’m being helpful. And then I straighten my own cards. Now, I just touched your cards, a nd t he n I tou che d my cards. T hat ’s not good. A magician as knowledgeable as Ed Mario should know better than to let me do that. Pete picks up Lee’s hand. Pete You still have four cards, but look—no Ace. Sorry Ed. Pete counts Lee’s cards; still four, but the Ace is gone. Pete I still have four cards, but now, two Aces. Pete shows his hand—he has two Aces. Pete You, Chris, are playing Charlie Miller, an old-school sleight-of-hand master from California who was a card cheat before becoming a magician. For yo u, Charlie, I simply wave my hand. Your bet. But... the shadow of my hand passes over your cards, and then over mine. And here are

Chr is’s card s are spread; no Ace. Pete And I have three Aces. Pete’s hand is spread; three Aces. Pete Sorry, Charlie. Pete turns to Ricky. Pete Your Ace, Ricky, will be the hardest. First off, it’s the Ace of Spades, the hardest Ace to steal. Pete shows the Ace at the bottom of Ricky’s packet. Pete But mostly because you are Dai Vernon, a man many experts consider the greatest card magician who ever lived. And you are one step ahead of me. You say “I win! I have four Aces, look. One, two, three, four—all Aces.” Pete shows Ricky’s cards—they are all the Ace of Spades. Pete When mag ician ’s play poker, th a t’s legal; four Aces. Dai Vernon... (smiles to himself) ...he’s good. But now it’s my turn. So I blew on these Aces, beca use. .. th a t’s what magicians do, and... the Aces are gone. Pete blows the first three Aces of Spades—they change back into random cards. Pete And this last Ace, is also gone. Pete shows the last Ace—it is now a random card.

Pete And even though you had four Aces yourself, you end up with nothing. Because when magicians play poker, somehow... Pete spreads his cards. He has all four Aces. Pete ...the dealer always wins.

The End


Notes on When Magicians Play Poker I really like the interlude where the third magician tries to beat me by us ing the Flushtration count. It comes at the perfect time in the routine— right when a lot o f Ace Assem blies could use a change o f pace. It's a good time for something funny, and this makes sense within the story and is magical. And it sets up the unload of the final Ace perfectly.

Method Although the underlying structure o f this rou tine is fro m Cy Endfield's “ Slow Motion Ace Trick,” none o f the original moves remain. This hand ling is designed to look supremely casual. There is really no point in the routine where you do anything carefully, or precisely, or anything like that. To para phrase Richard Kaufman (talking about Brother John Hamman), your relaxed attitude is what fools people, more than the precision of your technique. This routine all but eliminates the mystery-killing carefulness required with moves where cards have to be precisely aligned.

Performance Spread through the shuffled deck, and put each Ace on the face of the deck as you come to it. When you are done, you apparently spread the four Aces and place them face up on the table; secretly you add two cards behind them. The way I do this is so simple and natural that I am sure it is not original, but I've never seen it and don't know what to call it, so I’m using the fancy name o f “ Reverse Spread Addition.” The hidden cards don't have to be aligned with any other card or cards, so it looks very casual. But I warn you, this is gonna read like nothing. That's actually one o f the best things about it— it hardly seems like a move at all.

Reverse Spre ad Addition Take the deck face up in your left hand and spread over the Aces to your right, very casually. Two extra cards get pushed over as well, but this does not look deliberate, just part of a casual spreading motion. At this point your left fingertips are touch ing the back of the sixth card, your left thumb is on the face of the fifth card, and your right fingers are holding the aces. The right hand now reverse spreads the aces: the thumb pushes to the left as the fingers pull to the right. Your left fingers hold the fifth and sixth cards right where they are, and they end up under the spread aces (actual alignment is irrelevant). Your right fingers dip under the sixth card, pick up the spread (plus concealed cards,) and put it on the table.


That's it. The overriding point of technique in that you treat the process of putting the cards on the table as uninteresting; the interesting stuff is com ing up. So if you don’t pay attention to the cards, and say something that's more interesting than watching you put four Aces on the table— which is not ha rd— everyone will accept what you are doing. There’s no real sleight required beyond simple practice, and the result is very natural looking and ordinary. As a bonus, it arran ges the Aces so that the indices face the audience. I see surprisingly many performers lay down a spread of cards so the indices are facing the performer. Now you count off three cards and place them in front of Lee, then another three in front of Chris, three for Ricky, and three for yourself. Except that you false count two as three for Ricky and yourself. Here's how I do it: Deal the top card of the deck into the right hand. Draw it away, making a muted click as it slips off the left fingertips. Take another card, the exact same way. Now start to take a third, but as the right thumb comes down on it, the left thumb draws it back onto the deck. As it slips o ff the right fingertips, it makes the sam e soft click as the first two cards did slipping o ff the left fingers. You do this twice, on the last two packets. You’ve already done two fair counts before the two moves, and you’re talking about something much more interesting, so you couldn’t get much better cover. Don’t look and don’t pay any attention to the cards. Just get the sound right, which happens almost automatically. Not to make too big a deal of this, but this move is a perfect ex ample of casual handling. When I started out in magic, I would have worked out some Biddle steal for this section, which would have looked like a magi cian doing a magic trick. Now I just count out the cards, as though it were unimportant. It helps that it actually is unimportant. I don’t really care i f the spectators aren’t really convinced of the number of cards. What I care is that they are convinced I have put an Ace into each packet. And that they will be. So, Lee and Chris have three cards in a pile in front o f them, and Ricky and you have two. Pick up the Aces, and square the packet as you turn it face down into dealing position. Deal a card from the packet and tuck it under Lee’s pile. The left hand turns palm down so the finger can hold down Lee’s pile, which flashes the Ace and gives Lee a visual memory of seeing an Ace going under the packet. Deal cards under Chris’ and Ricky’s piles, then slide the three cards (Aces) left, as one, under your own packet. This is where the casual handling fools people, even if the three cards are not perfectly aligned. Of course, you want them to be as aligned as possible, but only as aligned as is possible when you do the move in a completely casual manner. In dealer’s grip the cards are almost in gambler’s cop, and they are in motion as they go under your packet,


so they are well concealed. At this point you have reached a pretty standard position in Ace A ssemblies, but in a decidedly different and, I believe, extremely natural and casual man ner. After your line about touching Ed Mario’s cards, it’s time to show that the first ace has travelled. You’re going to display Lee’s cards and then your own, and it will look the same, but in yo ur hand an extra card is concealed. The neat thing is, the sam e action will make either a fair or a false display, depending on how many cards in the packet. So both movements appear exactly the same. Pick up Lee’s packet with the right hand, at the middle of the right side, pinched between thumb on top and fingers underneath. Reverse count the cards into a face-down spread in the left hand, then tilt the left hand up to show the faces of four indifferent card s— the Ace is gone. Now pick up your hand and do the same thing; since you have five cards, the last card to go in the spread is a double. This time, when you lift the hand, the left thumb pulls the back card of the double slightly down and to the left a half-inch or so. This happens pretty much automatically as you raise the hand. This is similar to the Reverse Spread Concealment used in “I Must Be Cheating” on page 329 . The result is four visible cards, two o f which are Aces, with single edges all around, in a completely relaxed grip. The fingers cover the bottom edge o f the hidden card i f it peeks out below the other four. Nobody is looking at the edges, though, or the bottom; they’re looking at the two Aces. A miracle is the best misdirection you could ever have. Put Lee’s cards back on the table, face up, and loosely square your own cards and drop them on the table face down. It’s all very casual; both packets are just dropped on the table. On to the second Ace, where you show Chris’ cards and then your own; again the two actions look the sam e but the second time conceals a move. First you take the spectator’s cards. Spread the top three and lift them up to show the faces (as you com ment about “three random card s,”) then raise the bottom card to show the Ace is gone. Put these cards on the table, face up. Now pick up your cards. Spread the top three and show their faces — they are all Aces. The left hand holds the double card together, practically in gam bler’s cop position already, and the first fin ger points to the three Aces (which casually flashes the last indiffere nt card). Square the packet and turn to Ricky. As you begin talking, cop the two indifferent cards in the left hand, and drop the three Aces on the table with the right. Pick up Ricky’s packet in Biddle grip and begin talking about how it’s the hardest. As you do, casually flash the Ace on the bottom, and now you have to place the right cards into the left hand, so they can coalesce with the two

SCRIPTING MAGIC [ 42?

indifferent cards in gambler's cop. I motivate this by brushing off the table underneath where Ricky's cards were sitting, as though I had just seen some shmutz when 1 picked up the cards. 1 am sure there are more sophisticated ways to motivate this action, but this works, and it is an action Vernon recom mended, so I take some pleasure in doing it as I'm telling Ricky that he or she is playing Dai Vernon. But keep a break, then, and as you are talking about how Ricky is “one step ahead,” cut the packet, bringing the Ace to the bottom for the Flushtration count. The same principles discussed in “Scripting Counts” on page 272 apply to the Flushtration count. They're easier to apply, actually, to the Flushtration count. When the Flushtration count is finished, you are holding an Ace (really a double) in right hand Biddle grip, and three cards in a face-down spread in the left. You're going to unload the Ace in the ballsiest way possible. Lean over the table, holding the fan of three cards toward Ricky, blow on it, then turn it up to show the Aces are gone. As the face o f the fan is coming into view, the right hand momentarily touches the double card to the packet of three Aces in front o f you and unloads the Ace on top of it. In a smooth motion, the right hand moves forward as the left hand places its cards face up on the table, so that when attention turns back to the face down card in the right hand, it is now here n ear the pile o f cards in front o f you. Turn this card over to reveal that the last Ace is gone, and drop it onto the other three cards in front of Ricky. Turn over the packet in front of you and spread them from right to left, showing the four Aces.

Adaptation I f you like the “W hen magicians play poker” hook, be my guest. Even if you don't like it, i f you do an un gaffed Ace Assemb ly, chances are pretty good that you can use the bit of putting the Aces aside, so you can add them to the packets right before they start assembling. It's more magical, it's really easy, and it puts you way ahead immediately.

References Cy Endfield's “ Slow Motion Aces” is in Bruce Elliot's Great Secrets ofthe Mas ter Magicians, originally published as Classic Secrets o f Magic. This book, which originally sold for $1.50 , is the greatest bargain in the history o f magic. It’s still an excellent book today, 50 years after it was first published. You can find the Flushtration count in Richard Kaufman’s The Secrets of Brother Joh n Hamman, Kaufman and Greenberg, 1989. You could find it other places, too, but they wouldn't be as much fu n as the Ham man book.


Mental Cheating by Pete McCabe Int— Living Room— Eve Pete sits at a table with Lee, Chris, and Ricky, casually shuffling a deck of cards. He shows his hands empty and rolls up his sleeves. Pete People always ask if I can cheat at cards. You know, with sleight of hand. I would never do that. He cuts the deck and turns over the Ace of Clubs. Pete But... I can. Pete does a fancy triple cut and turns over the top card—the Ace of Diamonds. Pete Having wast ed my youth, and adu lth oo d, I can put any card I want, anywhere I want, any time I want. Like the Ace of Hearts. Pete cuts and the Ace of Hearts flies out of the pack by itself. Pete And the Ace of Spades... Pete places the Ace of Hearts with the other two Aces. Pete ...I’ve been palming it the whole time. Pete turns over his hand, revealing the Ace of Spades. Pete But there’s a problem with sleight of hand. If I get caught, you’ll kill me. I don’t want you to kill me.


Pete puts the Ace of Spades face up in front of him, and puts the other three Aces in front of Lee, Chris, and Ricky. Pete But if I us e my m ental pow ers , th er e’s nothing to catch. I like that. Pete pushes three cards off the face of deck and drops them in a spread on the AS. Pete Say we’re playing stud, everybody has four up cards. Pete puts three cards each with the Ace of Clubs, the Ace of Hearts, and the Ace of Diamonds. Pete It’s pretty close: everybody has an Ace, the be tting gets good, biggest pot of the night. Pete picks up his four cards and shows them; just an Ace and three ra ndom cards. Pete Now, if I can cast a spell on you, to make you all think these cards are the four Aces, you’ll fold and I’ll win all that money. Without any sleight of hand. Mental cheating. Pete puts his cards down. Pete Let me show you. Pete picks up the Ace of Clubs and three cards in front of Lee and turns them face down Pete Lee, you think you have the Ace of Clubs. Pete shows the Ace and puts it into the packet.


Pete Bu t w h e n I w a v e m y h a n d l i k e t h i s . . .

Pete sta re s int o Lee’s eyes and waves his h and hypnotically. Pete ...you think it’s gone. Pete dea ls Lee’s cards on the t able —th e Ace of Clubs is gone. Pete Now, it’s not in my h a n d —yet. Pete picks up his cards. Just one Ace. Pete But when 1wave like this... Pete waves his hands at Lee again. Pete ...your Ace appears to be in my hand. Pete shows his cards—the Ace of Clubs is there. Pete If that wave is working, this should look like the Ace of Clubs. Lee It’s working. Pete Good. Since you think you have nothing, you fold. Pete squares the packet of cards in front of Lee and turns them face down. Pete Chris. You think you have the Ace of Diamonds. Pete picks up the packet in front of Chris and inserts the Ace of Diamonds.


Pete

But with a little wave, it’s gone. Pete waves his hands toward Chris, then spreads the cards—the Ace of Diamonds is gone. Pete And I have it. Pete squares his packet and immediately respreads it—the Ace of Hearts appears . Pete Naturally, you fold. Pete folds the hand in front of Chris by turning it face down. Pete The last one ’s the h arde st, beca use you, Ricky, are the strongest at resisting my Jedi mind tricks. That’s why I saved you for last. Pete picks up the three indifferent cards in front of Ricky. Pete You think you have the Ace of Hearts. Pete pick up the Ace of Hearts and inserts it into the packet. Pete You’re sure you have the Ace of Hearts. But when I wave my hand, it’s gone. He squares the cards and respreads—the Ace of Hearts vanishes. Pete And where did it go? I have it. Pete picks up the last indifferent card in his packet and waves his hand over it—it instantly changes into the Ace of Hearts.

Pete So everyone folds, and

I win

all

the

money.

Pete folds Ricky’s hand. Pete And all because you think 1have the four Aces. That’s mental cheating. And the best thing is, once 1have all the money, I can take off the spell and let you see things as they really are. Pete wav es his han d p as t Ricky’s, Chris’s, an d Lee’s eyes, bu t from right to left this time. Pete Look all you want, there’s nothing to catch. So you won’t kill me. 1like that. And I get the money. Pete spreads his hand—the three extra Aces are gone. He turns over the othe r three ha nd s— the Aces are back where they started. Pete Th at’s why you shou ld never play poker with anyone who goes like this. Pete waves his hand one last time.

Notes on Mental Cheating This presentational hook works well in concert with the visual magic. And it sets up a nice reverse ending, which provides a powerful and dramatically consistent climax which is both surprising and inevitable. In this routine, as in Magician’s Poker, the cards are spread from right to left, so the indices are right-side up to the spectators.

Method I was playing around with Lee Asher’s fabulously famous Asher Twist, and realized that if I used a double-face card, I would get a change instead of a twist. This happened right around the time that every other magician in the world figu red out the exact same thing. That m om en t was essentially the spark that put me on the track o f this routine. Some o f these moves in this routine— the reverse spread addition, cop turn over, laydown con cealm ent— are things I worked out. I haven’t seen them in print, but I’m not Max Maven. I am sure that other magicians have walked this same ground, and no doubt put their feet where I have put mine. Whoever gets the credit, the handling in this routine is very natural and casual.

Setup Remove from the deck the cards that match the indifferent cards on your double-face Ace gaffs. Put the four Aces at the top and put the gaffs at the bot tom o f the deck, so the Ace sides are face up, from top down (i.e., 5 oth-5 2 nd cards): AH , AC, AD. I f you turn the deck face up, you’ll see the indifferent card on the back of the AD gaff.

Performance Start with any false shu ffle you can do without paying any attention. You’re going to begin by cutting to the Aces. Obviously you can do any impressivelooking Ace cuts, or productions, as you like. I like to start with a simple false cut, then the Jay Ose triple false cut, then the Benzais spin cut. While Alex is turn ing over the third Ace, I palm the Ace o f Spades o ff the top o f the deck. You can substitute any Ace productions for the opening sequence. You may be tempted to substitute a more visual production for this last Ace — say, Piet Forton’s pop-out move. I think the idea that you’ve been palming it the whole time is much more interesting. There’s plenty of flash in this routine. Distribute the Aces, face up, in the standard T-formation. Now you turn the deck face up and do the sam e thing four times: push o ff three cards, reverse the spread, and place it— face up — on the table, h alf overlapping an Ace.

The first tirru* you do just what it looks like, which puts the three gaffs onto your Ace o f Spades. For the other three Aces, you steal an extra card beneath the three cards, using the same Reverse Spread Addition we just learned in Magician’s Poker. At the end, the spectators will think that all four Aces have three indifferent cards on them, but the non-leader aces each have a fourth concealed under the spread. Each Ace will now travel to the leader packet in a two-part phase, the first part is the vanish, the second the appearance in the leader packet. The van ishes build, a little; the appearances build a lot. So — pick up the spread o f three (really four) indifferent cards from in front of Lee’s pile, and turn the whole spread over in your hand, loosely squaring it. As you do, get a break below the top two cards. Do not worry about people counting the cards, unless you are so uninteresting that counting cards is more entertaining than your show. Pick up the Ace and insert it face down into the break. Wiggle your fingers toward the spectator’s eyes. Don’t forget this step! It sets up the last line of the script, which is the applause cue. Then deal four cards to the table, showing that the Ace has gone, using the Table Spread Concealment.

Table Spread Concealment This is another simple move that I am sure someone else came up with years ago. It’ s a very fair-looking way to deal four cards face up to the table while hiding a card underneath. The handling is completely relaxed— very different from most similar moves, which require careful alignment. You’re holding five cards in left hand dealing position, with the Ace third from top. Stud deal the first card to the table face up. The exact position is actually important: you want the long sides on a 45-degree angle to your left. Stud deal the next card on top o f the first: same angle, but about ha lf its width further toward the audience. As you reach for the third card, pull down the bottom card with your left pinky so your right can take two as one. Take the double card in your right hand and do a stud turnover, at the same time turn ing over the single in your left hand. Hold them both near the other two on the table. This is the moment o f the vanish, so pause. Now, moving along, put the cards you are holding down on the table, but this is slightly tricky. The left hand puts its card on top of the two, but the right slides its underneath. This all makes sense, as you are adding the two cards in your hands to the spread. As you slide the double card und er the two already there, pu sh the hidden Ace to the left. The extra card is very safely hidden by the other three cards. Single edges are seen all around, and the whole thing looks very loose and casual,


with finge rs slid in g lo osely ov er the cards. This is basically an ad ap tation o f the Stan ley Collins Ace vanish . It is a very natural looking m ove.

Now you pick up your Ace packet. You are going to reverse the bottom card, which will bring the Ace o f Clubs into view. If you can do a great half pass, do so. I f you can't, well, neither can 1.1 use a substitute for the half pass which I call the cop turnover. Th is is another of those moves that I made up, but I'm sure it’s not original.

Cop Turnover It starts with you holding three double-faced cards and an Ace of Spades in a face-up spread. It appears that you close the spread, turn the packet face down, hypnotize the spectator, then turn the packet face up and respread it to reveal the Ace of Clubs at the face. But the first time, you only turn over three o f the four cards, as the fourth remains in gam bler's cop. This move is m uch easier to do deceptively than a straight gambler’s cop of a card. So: close the face up spread and tilt it toward you, in jogging the top card just after the spectators can’t see it any more. Now your right hand grabs the packet from the far end and turns it over onto the injogged card, which stays right where it is in gambler’s cop position. To m ake this even safer, make the mo tion o f closing the spread and grabbing the far end o f the packet flow together. That way you can injog the top card with no worries. Now turn the packet face up, m imick ing the actions o f the cop turnover, and show the Ace of Clubs at the face. Spread the cards, showing two aces, and casually adjust the positions of the cards so one of the non-aces is at the bottom of the face up packet. Drop your cards on the table as you say the line about the first spectator folding; loosely square up Lee’s four (really five) cards and turn them face down. The Ace will be on top. Vanish Ch ris’s Ace with the Table Spread Concealment, and pick up the receiving packet. Spread this out to show two Aces and two indifferent cards, then do the Asher twist to show one o f the cards has instantly changed into the third Ace. I’m not going to explain the Ash er Twist— there’s already one para site exposing this trick without Lee’s permission. I f you don’t already know it, go to Lee’s web site and bu y it. I f you think you know it, but it doesn’t look the same when you do it as when Lee does it (this is very common, by the way), you might want to go b uy it anyway. After the Ace appears in your hand, turn Ch ris’ s cards face down. For a change o f pace, I vanish the third Ace face up with an Asc anio spread. If you can’t do an Ascanio spread, you can repeat the Table Spread Conceal ment. For the third appearance, I pick up the last indifferent card and do the

snap-ove r cha nge as I wigg le m y finge rs over it. Th is is one o f the stronge st moments in my repertoire. This move is a lot easier with a double-face card than with two cards held as one, isn't it?

You are now all but done. Pick up the four Aces and show them to the audi ence for a mini-applause cue. Square up this packet, as though the trick were over (make sure the Ace of Spades is on the bottom of the face up packet). On the offbeat, repeat the Cop Turnover, pulling out just the bottom card and turning it over on top of the three gaffs. Drop this packet back in its original position. After the line about taking o ff the spell, wave your fingers, sweeping your hand in the opposite direction to take the curse off. Turn over your packet, revealing one Ace and three indifferent cards. Flip each of the other three packets face up; leave them roughly squared, but draw out the Ace towards you (it will be on the bottom when the packet is face up) so each Ace is visible. Leave the rest of the cards roughly squared, so the extra card isn’t visible, but no one would notice it anyway. The Aces are the miracle.

Adaptation The idea of mental cheating can be used with any Ace Assembly, gaffed or otherwise, slow-motion or all at once. There are a million ways to add the three gaffs to your deck in play, o f which the easiest is a deck switch while reaching into your pocket, close-up case, etc., ostensibly for something else between tricks. Personally, i f I’m doing anything in a formal setting, this is about all the card magic I'll do in a set. It's really pretty long and has 12 separate magical moments. I have fooled a few magicians who should have known better by secretly adding my three gaffs to the bottom of their borrowed deck. The card drop per described in “I Must Be Cheating” on page 329 is perfect. It may seem like overkill, but that’s exactly how you fool a magician (or, for that matter, a non-magician). By the way, you might want to make sure the duplicates o f the indifferent sides of the gaffs are all in the top half of the deck so they don’t show up am ong the indifferent cards.

References The first Assembly using double-faced cards was Ho fzinser’s “The Power o f Be lief” 150 years ago. His routine "T he Four Kings” was republished in the No vem ber 2005 issue o f Genii magazine, and is very well worth tracking down. The Asher Twist DVD is available at www.leeasher.com. Guy Hollingworth’s Ace Assembly is from Drawing Room Deceptions, Mike Caveney’s Magic Words, 1999.


In The Books of Wonder, Tommy Wonder does the snap-over change under his arm , which impro ves the illusio n— an idea he credits to Al Leech. It was obvious to adapt this to the hand wave in this routine.

Stanley Collins Ace Vanish first appeared in “Omega Ace Experiment,” from Collins’ Original Magic Creations, 1915. Thanks to Gordon Bean for pull ing that reference out o f his astounding knowledge bank. Scotty York has an Ace A ssem bly with a poker gam e theme in wh ich m agi cians are the other players, in Revolutionary Routines with Aces. The first magician to use McDonald’s Aces gaffs in a slow-motion assem bly was Derek Dingle; see “Slow Motion MacDonald’s Aces” in The Complete Works o f Derek Dingle by Richard Kaufman, Kaufman and Greenberg, 1982.

Out of This World

Traditionally, the last trick in a book is supposed to be extra strong. Well, “Out of This World” has been voted the greatest card trick of all time so often that for a while “ Stairway to to Heaven H eaven”” was known kno wn as the “ Out of this World” World” o f songs. A nd yet, yet, despite despite seeing seein g countless variations o f this trick trick in books, books, in lectures, and on video, I have never seen any whose presentation is based on the same sam e key idea as this one. It may ma y seem se em like a sm all point, but i f you try it you’ yo u’ll ll see that it reall re allyy does prod pr oduc ucee a deep d eep respo res pons nsee from fr om the audience aud ience.. The key to this presentation is not to not to mention the idea of separating the red and black cards until after Alex deals the cards. Alex deals the entire deck face down into two piles, believing it’s a subconscious counting test. Only now do you m entio en tion n that the previ pr eviou ouss expe ex perim rim ent en t was wa s just ju st a distrac dis tractio tion n to free fre e the subconscious mind to perform the real test, which is to separate the reds from the blacks. And as people are just beginning to consider this, you start turning cards over. And it slowly dawns on people, as they see the cards coming up, one pile all red, the other all black, what a miracle has occurred. This moment of realization is incredibly powerful, and the unforgettable sensation it pro duces is in many ways the essence of magic.

Unlikely There are some tricks which are physically impossible (a coin vanishes) and some which are merely impossibly unlikely (the card you named is the only one face down in the deck). This trick is at the very extreme end of the im possibly unlikely cate catego gory. ry. It is one o f the most un likely o f all all the the impossibly im possibly unlikely things that that can happen w ith a deck o f cards. cards. This script is designed around this. It uses this distinction to hook the spec tator, while at the same time it’s dramatizing exactly how impossibly unlikely the trick really is. And best of all, it sets up the audience to stop paying atten tion at just the right moment.

SCRIPT SCRIPTING ING MAGIC MAGIC | 439

Secret Powers by Pete McCabe Int—Living Room—Evening Pete sits at a table with Alex, shuffling a deck of cards. Pete This is not actually impossible. That’s why you’re going to do it. Pete smiles at Alex. Pete Alex, I think you have powers you don’t even know you have. I’d like to find out, if th a t’s t’s okay with you. Alex Sure. Pete Thanks. I want you to try two tests; the first, just a warmup, I want you to deal the cards into two exactly equal piles, without counting. I want you to take this deck and deal it into two random piles. One card at a time, and this is important: don’t just alternate, or follow any pattern. It has to be r a n d o m . Pete demonstrates, dealing cards haphazardly into two piles. Pete Most of all don’t count—not consciously. The idea is to see if your subconscious mind can count for you. Pete hands Alex the deck. Pete Of course, course, neatn ess c ou nts —and don’t don’t let anybody see any of the cards as you’re


putting them down. That could affect the second part.

Alex gets ready to deal. Pete In order to help distract your conscious mind, I’m going to recite my second favorite poem, “Oz ym an di as ” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Alex begins dealing the cards into two piles. Pete I met a traveler from an antique land, Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert... Near them, on the sand, half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things—the hand that mocked them, the heart that fed; and on the pedestal, these words appear: my name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch far away.” Alex finishes dealing the cards into two piles. Pete Excellent. I really couldn’t see a pattern, very random. If you have the power I think you have, there should be very close to 26 cards in each pile. Pete picks up a pile and counts it slowly and cleanly to the table.


Pete Twenty-five. Pretty good, you’re warming up. Let me fix this one.

Pete

Twenty-six exactly. (pause) Very good. Pete nods, as if he were impressed and almost a little weirded out.

Pete removes a card from whichever pile has more, and tucks it under the other.

Pete Now f o r th e s e c o n d t e s t o f y o u r sec se c re t po w e rs . Th e on onee yo you u d i d n ’t e v e n kn know ow you were taking. Getting the same number of cards in each pile is just a distraction from the real test, which is to see if you could magically separate the cards. Pete turns over the top card of each pile. One is red and the other black. Pete The odds of separating the first two cards by c ol or is e v e n mo mone ney. y. For f o u r car ca r ds ds,, i t ’s 8 to 1. Pete turns another card from each pile; each is the same color as the card dealt before it. Pete For six cards, it’s 32 to 1. Pete turns a pair; they match. Pete 128 to 1. (turns a pair) 512 to 1. (turns a pair) 2.000 to 1... (turns a pair) 8.000 to 1... (turns a pair) 32.000 to 1... (turns a pair) 128.000 to 1...


(turns several pairs)

500,000 to 1, Two million to 1, Eight million to 1... Pete turns over one more pair, then stops. Pete This is amazing. The odds of getting half the deck completely right are sixty-seven million to one. Pete spreads the face-up piles across the table and looks at them. Pete The odds of getting all 52 cards right are four quadrillion to one. Pete turns over all the rest of the cards at once. The entire deck is perfectly separated into reds and blacks. Pete Now t h a t ’s a p o w e r I’ll I’ll b e t yo you u d i d n ’t kn know ow you had.

The End


Notes on Secret Powers “Out o f this World” is the trick I’ve perform ed the most; I ’ve been bee n doin g it for 30 years. I did the original indicator-cards version many hundred times in High School. (I have a great handling for the switch, ask me about it some time.) time.) My friend Peter Ebb saw me do it about about 50 times, and finally figured it out. He was the only one. Obviously to do this with no indicator cards requires a modified handling. I use one I came up with 25 years ago. I had actually been using this method for more than 15 years before I thought to try it without mentioning red and black.

Method You Yo u have h ave 8 ounce ou ncess o f tea in i n a teacup te acup and an d 8 ounc ou nces es o f coffee coffe e in a cof c offe feee cup. You Yo u take a tables tab lespo poon on o f tea and an d stir it into the coffee cof fee.. Then Th en you yo u take tak e a table tab le spoon of the resulting mixture and stir it back into the tea. Is there more tea in the coffee cup, or coffee in the teacup? The answer is, there is the same amount amoun t o f tea in the the coffee coffee as there is cof fee in the tea. Likewise, if you take a deck of cards and divide it into two equal 26-card piles, there will be exactly as many reds in one pile as there are blacks in the other.

Proof There are N Red cards in Packet 1, hence 2 6 -N black cards. cards. Therefore Th erefore there are 26-(26-N) black cards in packet 2, and that equals N. However many red cards there are in packet 1, packet packet 2 will w ill have that that sam e n umber um ber o f black cards. You Yo u do not need to understand this to do the trick.

Setup Pencil dot the Three o f Clubs — I take a blue ultrafine Sharpie and fill in the corner o f the thin white white line that runs just inside the border of a Bicycle back back.. Fill in all four corners a quarter of an inch. This takes about ten seconds and is impossible to detect, and you can spot it in any spread. Separate the colors, put the Three of Clubs so it’s the closest card to the cen ter o f its half. half. So i f the reds are on top top o f all, all, mak e the Three the hig hest hes t black card. If the blacks are on top, make the Three the lowest black card.

Dan Garrett's Underhanded Red-Black Shuffle by Pete McCabe One day I was thinking about Dan Garrett’s Underhanded Overhand Shuf fle, which is the finest overhand false shuffle I know. I realized that a simpli fied version of Dan’s shuffle would make a fantastic red-black shuffle.

SCRIP SCRIPTIN TING G MAGIC MAGIC | 444

Hold the deck for an overhand shuffle, but put your right first finger behind the deck. Shuffle the top quarter of the deck freely into the left hand, and now, during the next chop, you’re going to switch the 3/4ths of the deck in your right hand for the 1/4 you’ve already shuffled. It’s not hard; as the right hand lowers its cards on top of the left hand’s cards, the right hand picks up the already shuffled top quarter of the deck. The first finger, positioned behind the deck, makes this pretty easy with a little practice. This leaves you with the already already shuffled top quarter quarter of the the deck in your right right han h an d— shuffle it onto onto the rest of the deck and you’re done. This looks very fair and it almost is. You start by shuffling freely, do the switch in the middle, and finish by shu s huffling ffling freely. freely. There are no runs o f single cards or anything you have to control at all. All you have to do is the chop switch, which is not hard and can be easily covered by pausing while talking to the spectator.

Ozymandias Hand Alex the deck. At this point I recite “Ozymandias,” which fills in the time very effectively for me. Because of the marked Three, you don’t have to count the cards. Of course, if Alex is doing something wrong, stop reciting “O zymandias” zyman dias” and deal with it. it. I almost never have to do do that— not since since I started started demonstrating demonstra ting the kind o f random rando m dealing d ealing I want Alex to do. do. Never u n derestimate the value of physically demonstrating something for a spectator. When Wh en Alex Al ex is finish fin ished ed dealin de aling, g, pick pic k up which wh ichev ever er pile you yo u think thi nk is large la rgerr and count the cards very slowly and cleanly to the table. This reverses the or der, so this pile will have the colors the opposite of the other pile. One pile is blacks over reds; the other reds over blacks. As you count, keep an eye out for the marked Three; you want to know which pile it’s in. About Abo ut h a lf the time, tim e, in m y experie exp erience nce,, there are 2 6 cards car ds in the pile. I f so, pause her h er e— this usually seems a bit bit eerie to to the the spectator spectators. s. I f no not, t, and if you picked up the larger pile, you will have a card or two (or three) left in your hand. Say something about how Alex is warming up nicely (or, if Alex was way wa y off, say that’ s okay, okay, it was just ju st a warmu wa rmup) p) and tuck tuc k the rem aini ai ning ng cards under und er the other pile, pile, to even them out. out. I f you come up short, take take the the neces nece s sary card(s card(s)) from the top top of o f the other pile and put them u nder nde r the pile pile you just counted. Through the magic of algebra, there are now the same number of black cards atop one pile as reds atop the other.

The Miracle Okay, time to reveal the miracle. Start by slowly and fairly sliding the two piles, which are probably in front of the spectator, closer to you. You need

SCRIPTIN SCRIPTING G MAGI MAGIC C I 445

som e space on you r wo rking surface and it has to be on on the far side o f the two two

packets. Start turning over the cards, one pair at a time, following your script. Make sure you turn the cards in pairs. pairs. Turn the cards directly toward the audience, creating new face-up piles in front o f the face down piles. As you turn over the the cards, you talk about the odds. You’re going to show all the cards in the top h a lf o f each pile, pile, one p air at a time, and then pa use to discuss the odds o f the half deck, which is where you spread the cards that have already been turned over. Finally you turn over the rest of both piles at once, which is where you do the switch. You have to know kn ow w hen he n you yo u reach rea ch the divi di vidi ding ng line. lin e. This Th is is indic in dicate ated d by b y the marked Three; you already know which pile it's in, and as soon as you start turning over cards, you know if it will be the last card of the top half of that pile or the the uppermost upperm ost card o f the lower half. I f the first card card from the Thre e o f Clubs Club s pile p ile is black, the Three Th ree will w ill be the last card o f the top top half; stop jus t after you yo u turn tu rn the pair pa ir that inclu in clude dess the Three Th ree.. I f the th e first fir st cards from fr om the Th ree re e o f Clubs pile are red, youll need to stop just before you turn the Three. So you deal deal pairs pairs o f cards cards until you see the marked Three, reeling o ff nu m  bers, and stop when the next pair would not match. Deliver the line about the odds of getting half the deck right, and you are going to spread the packets across the table, just as a demonstration of how many cards Alex has gotten right righ t so far. Your left left hand han d takes its packet and slide s it a little little to the the left, as the right hand picks up its packet and moves it to align vertically with the left pack et, but with the right hand packet closer to the audience. Spread both packets to the right; both spreads end in line with the right-hand undealt packet. Now you yo u have hav e the line lin e about abo ut the odds for fo r the whole wh ole deck, deck , and then the n you yo u turn tu rn over the rest of the cards at once to reveal the climax. This is where the packets are switched. Both hands reach for a packet; the right han d flips its its packet directly over over onto the end o f the spread in front o f it, it, while wh ile the left han h and d pick p ickss up its packet pack et and a nd drops dro ps it on o n the th e sprea sp read d that t hat’s ’s furt fu rthe herr away from you. Spread both packets further to the right. The switch is is done. done. There T here is no sleight of hand or secret actio action. n. You have to practice it, as you would anything you perform, but there is no physical tech nique. You fool their minds with the line about how many times you’ve done the trick. Then you fool their eyes because you turn the display 90 degrees: whe w hen n you’ yo u’re re turn tu rnin ing g pairs pa irs,, the colors colo rs are sepa se para rated ted vertically, but bu t w he n you yo u spread the packets, the dividing line is horizontal. Once you’ve fooled their min ds and their eyes, eyes, what m ore do you have to fool? fool?

SCRIPTIN SCRIPTING G MAG!C | 446

Adap Ad apta tatio tion n The bit of filling in dead time by reciting a poem is ripe for adaptation. Re citing “Ozymandias” gets a great reaction for me, and it is my second favorite poem, so it expresses expre sses who I am (just (just the fact that I have a secon d favorite poem says something about who I am). You can take another poem, or any literary selection. selec tion. But why limit yo urs elf to literary selection selections? s? I use that because because I’m a wri w rite ter— r— literar lite raryy select sel ection ionss are impo im porta rtant nt to me. me . What Wh at wou w ould ld you you do do to distract a spectator? spectator? Would W ould you do a little little dance? Would you reenact ree nact a scene fro m your you r favorite movie? How about singing some stupid commercial jingle or awful ’70s pop song that you can’t get out of your head? Or would you tell some piece o f wisdo wis dom m your yo ur dad passed along to you? you? Make it about you, and it will get a great reaction for you. Forgive me for saying so, but the first line of this script is really good. Feel free to use it with other “unlikely” tricks that the spectator (apparently) per forms.

References Out Out o f This World World was created created by Paul Curry in 1942. 194 2. Stairway to Heaven was released in 1971. “Ozymandias” was written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1918. Dan Garrett’s Underhanded Overhand Shuffle is in Garrett in the USA.

Adaptation

I

f you have read this entire book, you are probably asking y ourself, what now? How do you take what you have read and use it to make your magic better? After all, that's the point of this and every other magic book. What do you do with this knowledge?

The answer probably depends on your current repertoire. If you have sever

al original presentations, which you’ve scripted in som e way, then the answer is simple: be inspired. There are some great scripts in this book, and reading them should already have ignited your creative process. Follow it. If you’ve never scripted a trick, the door is wide open. You can follow the advice and instruction in this book, pick a trick in your repertoire, and create a new, original presentation for it. One that perfectly fits your personality and performing style, and expresses something that is important to you, in a way that is uniquely yours. That’ s the ultimate goal, I think, o f being a magician. But that’s my ultimate goal. Yours may be completely different. Maybe you enjoy magic, and you like doing a few tricks for friends, and you want to get more out of your efforts. You know that narrating the trick, or doing the pat ter that comes with the instructions isn’t quite doing it. You want something better. What do you do? Although I believe the ultimate goal is to perform original presentations, there is nothing wrong with an amateur magician learning and performing someo ne else’s presentation (assuming the presentation is “available” for use). The Beatles’ first albums included several covers of songs they did not write. However, they adapted these songs to their own nascent style; this is a natural step in the development o f both your own style and repertoire. A nd o f course, the Beatles soon moved past adaptations to astonishing original songs. I’m not saying you can be the Beatles, but I have seen many magicians for whom someone else’s well-written script would be a distinct improvement over the scripts they use. And there are a lot of well-written scripts in this book. So if you want to perform one o f the scripts in this book, I think that’s great. It’s a terrific way to really appreciate the power o f scripting. And it will give you excellent practice at perform ing a script, which is an essential skill that many magicians don’t get much chance to practice. After you have some experience performing other people’s scripts, you’ll probably want to adapt the script for yourself. This is where, I believe, the greatest number of people reading this book will end up. Taking good scripts— and presentational hooks, structures, etc.— and changing them to


keep their strengths, while making them personal. Although creating original

presentations from scratch is the highest level o f magic, adapting scripts is the most efficient way to improve. It is easier and takes less time and effort to adapt an existing script than to create a new one. The results a re— for an amateur, especially— almost as good, and it develops the skills you need to reach higher. In this book I have included some notes on how you might adapt these scripts for yourself. These notes vary widely in how detailed they are and how far they take the alternate ideas, but they will be, for some magicians, the most valuable part o f the book. Even if you don’t like any o f the changes I would make when adapting a script, just looking at the choices I've made can help you think about the changes you migh t make in your own presentations.

A Surprise Example After reading Jamy’ s chapter on “I've Got a Surprise for You,” I found my se lf drawn to Sean’s script— called “What it Takes to Be Happy” — and when I read it I immediately thought of several things I would do if I were to adapt it for myself. I should mention that although I get these thoughts quite often when reading a good script, I rarely add variations o f other people’s presenta tions to my own repertoire. But as Sean has passed away, the chance to keep his presentation alive, as a tribute, appealed to me, and it’s certainly a very strong, flexible structure. Mostly, though, it generated ideas in my head— ideas which I found very attractive. That’s ultimately how I decide what to perform — what ever makes me respond, that’s what I follow. My first thought was to include, at the end of Jamy’s essay, some of these ideas, which were entirely untested (this was the last contribution to the book, and I have not had the chance to work on the trick in the real world). Jamy didn’t like my take on the presentation, and we had a very lively email exchange on the subject. We don’t agree on everything, but I did realize that to include my untested ideas alongside Sean’s meticulously worked out presentation is a poor tribute. Mostly, though, I think it’s much more useful to discuss the subject of adaptation in some more detail. In particular, I want to talk about what makes a trick a good choice for adap tation— not just in this book, for all your magic. One o f the areas where Jamy and I disagreed about was the basic question of whether Sean’ s script is a good candidate for me to adapt in the first place. What makes a presentation wellsuited for adaptation? Let’s assume that the creator has effectively granted you permission to use the idea by publishin g it. And let’s say that you are at a stage in your development where it is worthwhile for you to perform a presentation

that w as n’t developed spec ifically for you. H ow can you tell if you'll be able to

successfully personalize a script? There are as many answers to this question as there are magicians to adapt a script. My answer comes down to this one question: what part of the script appeals to me? I f the answ er is the individual lines, then my adaptation is not likely to be successful. The individual lines are what make a script person a l— they’re what you have to change to make the script work for you. This is almost exactly the opposite of the way most amateur (and depressingly many professional magicians) approach the question. Let’s face it, it’s much easier to lift a line than a presentational hook or structure. And it almost invariably fa ils — because what makes a line work is not the line itself but what the line means when a certain character says it. When the same words are said by a different person, it’s not the same line. If Michael Close can’t even use lines he wrote for himself twenty years ago, you’re not going to have much success performing someone else’s lines. But if what appeals to me is the underlying structure o f a trick, then I’ll probably be able to make an adaptation I’ll be happy with. That’s what I start with whe n I’m developing my own presentations from scratch— a good, flex ible structure with rich possibilities for self-expression. So when I find a script with a good structure, the first thing I do is strip out all the lin es— all the con tent, i f you w ill— and look at the underlying theme, or point, o f the presenta tion. I f necessary, I revise the theme to suit my own personality. Th en I put in all new lines to express the new theme. I feel the result of this process, while not quite as good as a completelyfrom-scratch presentation, can still be very effective, very personal, and cre atively satisfying. Since I am an amateur, I find this approach very productive. Jamy, one o f the world’ s ran king p rofessional m agicians, has, I am sure, much stricter standards, and i f your goal is to become a top professional, you will be well advised to mim ic his approach. How ever i f you are an amate ur like me, and your previous standards for presentation are more typical of ama teur magicians, then you may find that a good adaptation of a well-structured presentation improves your repertoire. This is how you become a better magi cian — one trick at a time. So when I consider Sean’s script, I find an excellent structure. And the un derlying them e— what does it take to be happ y— is also excellent, and m ore importantly, will allow me to express things that are important to me. So I think that if I were to strip out the content o f Sean’s script— what is important to him , in other words — and replace it with what is important to me, I would have an engaging, meaningful presentation that will let me express myself,


and, along the way, perform an excellent magic trick that both supports and

expands on the ideas being expressed. I would not, though, perform the resulting presentation for Jamy. He has lived with Sean’s version for years and inspired countless students with it; he was there when it was created. To Jamy, the original version keeps Sean’s memory alive in the world; my adaptation would not match the original, it would inspire distinctly negative emotions. As you develop as a magician, the way you add material to your repertoire will develop as well. When you are a beginner, or a beginne r to scripting, you may well perform another magician’s script intact. After a couple of times you’ll begin changin g som e o f the lines to suit yourself. After that you’ll p rog ress to the point where you cut out all the lines and put in all new ones. Then you may change even the underlying structure. Finally, you’ll reach the point where you aren’t even interested in perform ing another m agician’s script, and everything you do comes from a new presentation you create from scratch. Depending on your commitment to magic you may stop, or at least linger, at any point along this progression. But the further along it you progress, the better a magician you will be. Have a good trip.

I prefer commencing with the consideration o fan effect. Having chosen a novel, first, and secondly a vivid effect , I consider whether it can best be wrought by incident or tone- -whether by ordinary incidents and peculiar tone, or the converse, or by peculiarity both o f incident and tone— afterward looking about me (or rather within) for such combinations o f event, or tone. as shall best aid me in the construction o f the effect.

Edgar Allan Poe IA GIC | 4 5 1

Other Resources

Here is a very brief list of some books which, if you want to improve your ability to script your magic, you should read. Magic and Showmanship by Henning Nelms should be read by everyone who wishes to perform magic for non-magicians. Showmanship for Magicians by Dariel Fitzkee is one o f the first books to take a serious look at presenting magic, holding it up to the same standards that other branches o f entertainment routinely apply. I f nothing else, read it for the won derful presentation o f the Doll House illusion. Strong Magic by Darwin Ortiz contains no tricks, but discusses presentation in great depth and with practical considerations always in mind. I f you're a thinking magician, you'll find m uch to think about. I f you're willing to read Scripting Magic, an entire book with no pictures, Strong Magic should be right up your alley. Tubthumping, by Bill Duncan. A manuscript with ten of Bill's scripts. You can find it at home.comca st.net/~wsdun caniv/W ebsite_files/pageooo2.htm , and if that doesn't work contact H &R Magic Books (www.magicbookshop.com or 281-540-7229) as I believe they carry everything Bill publishes. Card Stories by Ariel Frailich contains 17 card trick presentations designed to transcend the standard “card trick” mode o f performin g. As a bonus, you'll learn 17 new tricks, or at least, as is invariably the case in magic, new versions o f existing plots.

Colophon This book was created on Macintosh computers, because they’re better. Deal with it. The body text is set in Scala, with Futura for head ers, subheads, etc. Scripts and interviews are in Lucida. The quotes sprinkled liberally around the book are in Garamond (technically Adobe Garamond Pro— no amateur typefaces for my book). There are 140,000 words in this book and I typed probably 125,000 of them myself, using a Datadesk Technologies SmartBoard. The layout was done on a Dell 2005FPW 20-inch widescreen LCD monitor, which I highly recommend. Having a large monitor makes me feel important, as though what I’m doing must matter or I wouldn’t have such a grand monitor to do it on. The text was prepared in Pages, a word processor by Apple. If you think trusting a 6-year, 450-page project to a 1.0 piece of software is insane, you are right, but I got away with it. The flowchart for Jon Armstrong’ s trick was created in a program called Omnigraffle, which you’ve never heard of. Final lay out and creation of printer files was done in Adobe InDesign. Special thanks to Jonathan Levit, who taught me everything I know about InDesign, and a lot more besides, which I have forgotten.

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Scripting Magic by Pete McCabe

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